Rise of the Chosen
by Ainrhyr
Summary: Aile was just an ordinary transporter, until she got chosen to wield the legendary Biometal Model X.Now she has to fight, just to protect her friends, her beliefs, her sanity, and her life against a force dead-set on the destruction of everything.
1. The Transporters

Greetings, O readers. This is the first installment of what will hopefully become an epic series, barring any unforeseen mishaps along the way. It follows the main storyline of Megaman ZX, but I've made several notable deviations here and there. You'll see what I mean if you like this story enough to keep an eye on it.

As an additional note, this is my first story, so be kind in your reviews. But don't hesitate to tell me if I'm doing something wrong, so I can correct it.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer to end all disclaimers: All characters mentioned, hinted at, or even remotely resembling characters created by various companies are the property of their respective companies, specifically Capcom, but refers to any others if mentioned. I own none of them. Any semi-original characters with a basis elsewhere are still property of the company that made it. All things, including area names, characters, items, or events that were thought up and presented by anyone, are owned by said someone, and whatever company they represent or represented at the time. Once again, I own _nothing_, and unless I become exceedingly wealthy in the near future, I probably never will either.

And with that out of the way, let the story begin!

* * *

**_Rise of the Chosen_**

Chapter One

The Transporters

* * *

Area A was a vast and serene forest that stretched north of the city of Innerpeace as far as the eye can see. Filled with creatures, both biological and mechanical, living in harmony with each other. Far from the city, despite the native creatures' level of activity, the area was pristine and quiet.

Alas, nothing lasts forever. A beeping sound, although muted, was loud enough to disrupt the natural quiet of the place, startling a flock of birds into flight.

Atop a high cliff overlooking the forest, the source of the beeping, a tall reploid clad in red with long blond hair and glasses, fumbled through his pockets until he located the object in question: a phone.

"Hello. You've reached Giro Express Transporters. We can take anything, anywhere. What can I do for you today?"

"Giro, is that you?"

The reploid's eyes lit up. He had been awaiting this particular call. "Ah, hello Prai- I mean, client." He corrected himself almost immediately. They may have been old friends, but this was business.

"Did you receive the package from the archaeological recon unit?"

Giro glanced at the two bikes resting nearby, one red and one blue. Nestled in the side compartment of the blue one was a small grey box. "Yea, I got it."

"Good." There was a short pause, in which Giro suspected she was checking her location. "My unit is headed for the agreed upon rendezvous point."

"Already?" Giro pulled up his sleeve to reveal a small watch. "That's at least an hour ahead of schedule."

"I know it's a little sooner than expected, but we've confirmed some maverick activity nearby. I'd rather get this over with as soon as possible, Giro. Can you meet us there?"

"I understand. Yes, I'll meet you there." Giro terminated the connection with a frown. (Maverick activity, huh? Guess we'd better get moving as well.)

"Hey Aile! You ready to move out?"

No response was forthcoming. Giro glanced around until he located his companion. She was standing near a broken tree, just next to the cliff edge. She wasn't looking at him.

Giro walked up behind her. "Aile, did you hear me?"

If she did, she gave no indication of it. Giro followed her gaze, and immediately suppressed a sigh.

Far in the distance, the city of Innerpeace was clearly visible. And standing prominent over the city, as it always had, was the immense Slither Inc. building. It was this immense building that was the object of the brown-haired girl's eye.

Giro knew she was depressed by the way she stood, and he knew he had to break her out of it. The girl had a way of letting her depression take over until she couldn't do much of anything.

Fortunately, he had several good ways of snapping her out of it. Unfortunately, they all seemed to involve getting her somewhat mad at him.

"Even at this distance, you can easily see the Slither Inc. building. They sure have done a lot to save this country, even you have to admit that."

The girl's stance remained unchanged, but Giro had the impression that she slouched a bit. "The country maybe, but you know full well that their security force could have saved my mom and the rest, and they didn't. Ten years, and I haven't forgotten, Giro. I haven't forgotten everyone screaming…everyone dying…"

She abruptly straightened. "The mavericks took everything from me."

(There it is), Giro thought mildly, as Aile's fist clenched. Now, all he had to do was pull her thoughts away from Slither and the past, and he was home free. (Now let's see here… I should lead her train of thought away gradually)

"I remember the day I found you all alone. I know it's tough, but I doubt your mother would want you to be so sad."

Her depressed stance didn't set in. Giro knew he was close, and decided to go for the final blow.

"Besides, you're not bad in a pinch. I bet you didn't know that all of our customers like you."

_That_ did it, and she whirled around to face him, her jade eyes blazing. "Not bad!? Is that supposed to be some kind of compliment!?"

Giro laughed; he couldn't help it. Her expression was priceless, and a part of him celebrated his victory over Aile's depressed state. And as he laughed, her expression softened, in the way it always did. Aile couldn't hold anger very well, especially when she knew he'd only been trying to help her.

Giro finally got himself under control. "Anyways, we should get moving. The client is already making their way to the rendezvous point, and we don't want to be late."

Giro headed back to his bike. Aile simply stared at him for a second, then jogged after him. "Hey Giro, just who are these Guardians we're working for anyways? They always seem to be on a schedule, they have an obsession with secrecy, and to top it all off, they haven't even told us what it is we're supposed to be delivering to them!"

She gestured rather pointedly at the grey box in her bike's side compartment, which actually proclaimed in large black letters, "TOP SECRET! DO NOT OPEN!".

Giro mentally slapped himself for forgetting to tell her about their employers. "The Guardians are an independent defense force that banded together to fight the mavericks. Right now they're moving from place to place, both to investigate the cause of the maverick outbreaks, and to hopefully stop said outbreaks."

His gaze fell on the package briefly, then returned to Aile. "As for the package, try not to ask too many questions. I'm sure that it's very important to them, whatever it is. For all I know, it might have something to do with the mavericks, so it's probably very dangerous. We should just deliver it, and forget about it."

Aile met his gaze levelly. She knew her boss well enough to know that he wasn't telling her everything. But just as she opened her mouth to tell him that, there were three loud bangs.

"Down!!" Aile ducked behind her bike at Giro's command, but poked her head over the vehicle to see what was going on.

"Giro, what's happening!?"

"Those are mavericks! But how did they find us here!?"

Three more reports sounded, and Giro cursed venomously while leaping to the side, just as some unseen force hit his bike, pushing the red vehicle to the side and causing it to smoke. Her view no longer hindered by Giro's bike, Aile could clearly see a trio of galleon hunters, all with their arm cannons leveled.

Giro briefly wondered why they hadn't destroyed his bike outright, then realized that they had been aiming at a point _past_ his bike. He glanced at what, and was both dismayed and shocked to realize that it was the fuel line on Aile's bike. There was only one reason to target her bike and not his.

"They must be after the package!"

Giro opened his mouth to warn Aile, but he was cut off by a series of weapon discharges, as the two rear mavericks opened fire.

Aile's eyes widened as she saw the shots headed for her, and she unconsciously scrambled backwards. Fortunately, she backed far enough away not to be caught in the blast, which would have been lethal to her. But as the bike exploded, the concussive force blew her backwards, right off the cliff.

Aile heard Giro call her name as she fell. Then she hit something hard, and she blacked out.

* * *


	2. The Legendary Biometal: Model X

I believe that I forgot to mention something. The couple Zx fanfics that I've encountered seem to star either just Vent, or both Vent and Aile. Just for the sake of variety, plus the fact that I personally like Aile better, I decided to give her the chance to take the spotlight.

Also, I seem to have an bit of an obsession with detail. If it wasn't apparent last chapter, it might be for this one.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

**_Rise of the Chosen_**

Chapter Two

The Legendary Biometal: Model X

* * *

beep beep

"Nrrgh, go away…sleepy…"

beep beep

"Ugh…Wha- what the!?"

Aile jerked upright as she finally came to, only to sit abruptly back down, clutching her head. "Oww. That was a really long fall. But what happened?" She looked up towards the cliff she'd fallen off. Near the base of the cliff, she spotted a long, thin sapling of a tree with a leafy bough on top. It had snapped in half due to the force of her hitting it, but it had probably saved her life. There was no other way she could have survived such a long fall.

beep beep

"Hmm?" Aile dove around her pockets until she fished out a small phone. "Um, hello?"

"Aile! Are you okay!?"

"Giro? Yea, I'm okay. A bit bruised, but okay."

She heard him sigh in relief. "That's good to hear. Oh, the package! Aile, I think it fell off the cliff when your bike blew. It should be somewhere near you. Do you see it?"

"Hang on, I'll look for it." After a brief search, she finally located the grey box, but it appeared to be empty. Looking around near the box, she spotted the most unusual thing. There was an odd-shaped blue and white piece of metal just…floating in midair, not far from the empty container. "What is that? Is that what we're supposed to be delivering?"

That last statement had been to herself, but Giro heard it anyway. "Aile, listen carefully. The rendezvous point isn't too far from here, and you're probably closer to it than I am. Grab the package and get it to the Guardians as fast as you can. I've got some…_business_ up here to take care of," He said the word with a tone of menace, and Aile almost felt sorry for any mavericks up there, "but I'll join you as soon as I can. And by all that is holy, don't let the Mavericks get that package!"

And with that, Giro cut the connection, leaving Aile muttering to herself.

"He barks out orders when on the job, and then leaves me to fend for myself." Aile threw a mock glare towards the cliff, but then shrugged and started walking. "But then, that's what he always does. Oh well, might as well get going. Although, how does he expect me to keep it away from the mavericks?"

Walking towards the odd, floating object, Aile was jolted out of her thoughts by a loud voice. "Wha- Who are you!?"

Right in front of Aile were two people, both of them dressed in green uniforms, and sporting helmets with odd triangular goggles attatched to them. They also had rifles, which were immediately leveled at the hapless transporter. The lead one spoke. "Who are you, and what are you doing here!?"

Aile froze immediately. "H-hold on, I'm only delivering a package. I'm not armed or anything…"

The soldiers, and there was no doubt in Aile's mind that that was what the two people were, relaxed slightly, but didn't move their guns.

"Lower your weapons."

Both soldiers jerked at the new voice, but complied. A third figure stepped out from behind the soldiers. Unlike the soldiers, this one was a girl dressed in pink and white. She looked at both soldiers, then turned to Aile with a kind expression. "Are you with Giro Express?"

The girl seemed harmless, so Aile relaxed. "Yes, I am. Are you the Guardians?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. We heard an explosion, and came to investigate. Was that you, by any chance?"

"Yea, mavericks came and blew up my bike, and I fell…off…what is that noise?"

Everybody became quiet as a rumbling sound became apparent. And it was getting closer by the second.

The three Guardians spun around, just in time for a massive robotic snake to emerge from the trees. One of the Guardian soldiers just gawked. "W-what the hell is that thing!?"

Aile had a pretty good idea though. "A snake mechaniloid!? It must have come with the other mavericks!"

The soldier that wasn't gawking at the behemoth leveled his rifle at the creature's head and expertly fired several bursts, but if they dealt any damage, it wasn't showing. "Prairie, we'll hold it off! Grab the Biometal and get out of here! Dammit, Maquereau, help me here!"

The gawking soldier, obviously Maquereau, pulled himself together and helped his fellow fire at the snake, but neither of them noticed that Prairie was too frightened to run.

The snake gave the soldiers a reproachful glance, almost as if it was tiring of the game, and spun around at incredible speeds. It's tail, which Aile saw had a flail-like appearance, hammered the soldiers with dreadful force, knocking the duo to the ground.

"NOO!!" Prairie finally snapped out of it, and dashed up to help them. "Are you alright!?"

"P-Prairie, why are you…still here? Get the Biometal… and go!H-hurry!"

(Dammit, we've got to get out of here, and fast!) Aile thought. She ran up next to Prairie and the downed Guardians. "Come on, get up! If we don't get out of here, we're done for!"

"But…what about them? What about the Biometal!?"

"They want you to get to safety! As for the Biometal, just leave it; they'll only follow us if we take it!"

"But I can't let the Biometal fall into the wrong hands!"

Ye Gods, why did this girl have to be so stubborn? Aile grabbed her arm in an attempt to pull her up. "Is that more important than your life!? Come on, we need to get going!"

"But…Sis…" Much to Aile's surprise, the girl's eyes hardened, and she jerked her arm out of Aile's grasp. "My Sis left that for us. It's too important to give up now! And I am not leaving these two here!"

There was a rumbling. The snake mechaniloid had returned. Prairie was desperately trying to help up one of the soldiers. Aile was glancing rapidly between the snake mechaniloid, the girl, and the soldiers' weapons. "I've got to do something. She won't leave that Biometal thing, or the soldiers, but if we try to save them and the Biometal, this thing'll kill us. Dammit!" Aile glanced despairingly around, while the snake looked on in what could only be described as amusement. "Oh, I don't know what to do! Giro, where are you!? I can't deal with this on my own!"

**No, you cannot.**

Aile jerked at the sound. "Who said that?"

A faint movement caught her eye, and Aile spun around. There, between the snake mechaniloid and her, was the blue metal from before. "You…speak?"

**As I said, I highly doubt you can deal with this on your own. But you will not be alone. I will assist you.**

The metal piece floated towards her, glowing faintly. Some unknown feeling swept through Aile as it approached, somewhat of a mix between fear and anticipation. But before she could make any kind of reaction, it was there.

And then, it felt like the world fell out from under her. All was quiet, except for a single, ringing voice.

**Biolink established! M.E.G.A. SYSTEM online!!**

* * *

Prairie could only stare as the Biometal engulfed the transporter girl in blue light. She was so entranced by the spectacle, she didn't even notice that one of her escort had managed to push himself somewhat upright. And when the light faded, they both gasped.

* * *

"W-what happened!?"

There was a hissing roar. Aile shook her head, and looked up, where the snake mechaniloid appeared to have tired of simply looking at them. "What do I do!?"

**I can handle this. With your permission?**

She briefly wondered what it meant, then gasped as some unknown presence entered her psyche. It coiled around her, gently wrapping her in it's arms as though to protect her, and she unconsciously knew it meant her no harm. Wordlessly, she yielded to the presence.

It was such an unusual feeling, watching your body move while knowing that it was not you moving it. She watched as her arm, which she noted was clad in shimmering azure armor, raised until it was level with the mechaniloid's head. Her arm flashed, and a deadly looking arm cannon appeared on it. Blue-white light began collecting at the end of the weapon, which soon spat a massive blue-white ball of energy at the mechaniloid. It hit and exploded with resounding force, causing the creature to reel in shock, as nothing before had hurt it. Hissing in pain and anger, the mechaniloid turned and retreated.

Aile gasped again as the unseen presence withdrew, and she immediately began looking over herself. She was completely clad in blue armor. Boots, gauntlets, even a helmet with a blood-red gem set in it, which she could just barely see. "What is this!? Is this why the Biometal is so important!?"

There it was again, those gentle mental arms embracing her.

**Don't be afraid. I am known as a Biometal. I am called Model X.**

"You're…talking to me inside my head?"

**Yes, I am, but please focus on the problem at hand. If we don't move away from here, that girl is likely to get caught in the middle of our battle. We need to move and draw the Mavericks after us. And then, with our combined strength, we can fight them off!**

Aile said nothing, but she didn't doubt it. Merely standing there, she could literally feel the energy coursing through her body. With this kind of power, she almost felt…invincible…like she could do _anything_.

"She merged with Model X!? She must be a Chosen One!"

The girl's voice reminded Aile that she was not alone. As she turned to look at the girl, she realized that the Biometal was right: The girl didn't look very combat capable, and her escorts were obviously in bad shape. If the mavericks ambushed them there, the Guardians could get hurt or killed. She had to draw them off.

"I just need to make sure this gets to the rendezvous point, where the Guardians are, right? I'll try and draw the Mavericks away from you, but you need to try and stay hidden. Just wait here until I get some help for you."

Aile turned and started running towards Area A-2, but was halted by the girl's voice. "Wait!" Aile stopped and spun around to lock eyes with the girl, who smiled at her. "Thank you for saving us. My name is Prairie."

Aile blinked at her, then flashed her a smile. "And I'm Aile. I'll be your transporter today! Try to stay hidden, and I'll get help for you as soon as I can!"

Prairie nodded. "Okay. But be careful Aile!"

Aile turned. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!" And with that, she dashed off.

* * *


	3. The first of many great battles to come

Okay, let's review some reviews, mostly cause I feel like it.

**Alisa180**: You are the first one to post a review to this story. Not only that, it's a big thumbs up to me. Thanks for being so kind to look over my fledgling story, as it inspires me to keep going. I hope I live up to expectations.

**Loverly Light**: I don't mind short reviews, and I absolutely agree about Aile and Vent in the same universe. However, there are some very good Zx stories that incorporate both very well. But then, I like the series enough so that I can overlook that.  
As for the swearing, I only had two instances in the second chapter: One was by the Guardian Solder (Who's name is Bar, by the way), and I figure that in the heat of battle, it would be natural for a soldier to swear if his comrade isn't covering him. As for the second one with Aile, I was trying to incorporate the idea that Aile was desperate at that point, and I had her swear just to put emphasis on that.  
But you do have a point. And I'm honestly not a person who can simply swear on every occasion. I'll try to lessen that.

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Three

The first of many great battles to come

* * *

"Okay, how does this thing work again" Aile found herself asking as soon as Prairie and the rest were out of earshot.

**Hold out your arm and envision the X-Buster appearing on it. The armor should react, and form the buster.**

"Alright." Aile held out her arm, and imagined the lethal-looking gun appearing in a flash. As if on cue, there was a flash, and there it was. "Wow, it worked."

**It usually does. Now, lets see if you can use it. Remember the feeling when I fired it, and it should respond to you.**

A small swarm of eyeballoons appeared out of the trees in front of her. Aile hefted the buster with her free hand, pointed the massive weapon roughly in their direction, and tensed her hand inside the weapon. The buster responded by launching a flurry of orange-yellow energy bursts. Granted, most of them missed, but a few hit their mark, shattering the fragile eye-shaped robots with ease. The remainder scattered.

**Your body seems to think that the buster is heavy Aile. My armor enhances your strength, so such a weight is nothing. Try simply aiming it, without support.**

"Alright, hang on." Aile hefted the buster with just her buster arm, and realized that Model X was right: The weapon didn't feel heavy at all, despite it's size. "I guess you're right. Let's try this again." Aile leveled the buster at one of the fleeing eyeballoons and fired a trio of shots. Much to her surprise, all three shots hit squarely on the maverick, destroying it. "That works."

**Much better. Now let's move on. I have a built-in Rapid Mobility System that is typically called the Dash System. Lean forward, and envision yourself rocketing forward.**

She did so, but she moved so fast, she almost hit a tree. "Whoa! That's fast!"

**It's for short distances, but it's very useful for moving out of harm's way if you know how to use it. Now, I'm currently assisting you with several of the automatic functions of these units, but you'll want to learn how to manually use them as you become more proficient. Now, let's see what else you can do…**

Aile worked her way through dozens of enemies while Model X schooled her in some of his basic movement functions. Dash capabilities, superior jumping capabilities, an archaic, but useful function called the wall jump or triple jump, and more. By the time she reached Area A-2, she'd gotten the hang of most of them. She hadn't gotten to be a quasi-legal transporter by being slow. But the level of efficiency she was exhibiting was both impressive and scary. Aile had never envisioned herself as a fighter, but she seemed to be a natural at it.

**Only in your mind, Aile. These are but common robots. Grow complacent, and you are only looking to get yourself killed. Yes, you are superior to most of these simple robots, but that is akin to saying that a civilian is less capable than a civilian with a gun. Always try to improve yourself, because there will always be something stronger.**

"I got it!" She yelled. Not because she was angry, but because she just barely dodged a plasma shot from a small, helicopter-styled mechaniloid. She emptied a trio of plasma bullets into it, but its armor withstood the assault relatively intact. "How do I do that weapon charge attack?"

**Rather than rapidly firing energy, allow that energy to collect. It may take valuable time in battle, but a charged shot is far stronger than a standard one. I have two levels of charge, and the current level is displayed on a bar located on the side of the buster.**

She followed his instructions, and launched a massive blue energy blast at the mechaniloid, destroying it's rotor and grounding it. She went to finish it off with standard fire, only to launch a wave of blue-pink energy instead, completely obliterating it. "What the hell was that!?"

**Ah, I forgot to mention. You can store and fire exactly one fully-charged attack if you charge long enough. If you can time it right, you can fire two fully-charged shots one right after the other.**

"Well, can't I save that second charge shot, and use standard fire instead while saving it for later use?"

**When you become proficient at manually controlling that particular function, yes. Until then, no.**

"Swell. Guess I'll have to get better then."

Aile continued forward toward a small passage through a low bluff, but a sudden whirring noise alerted her to the fact that she was not alone.

A spinning disk with razor-sharp blades fell rapidly towards her. Aile jumped to the side, but she miscalculated the disk's ability to rotate, and it spun directly towards her shoulder.

Aile had exactly enough time to inhale sharply before the blade severed her precious limb, only for it to... not be severed. Her armor suddenly pulsed with a faint white glow as the blade hit, and the blade unexpectedly rebounded off her armor, leaving a faint cut. The disk recovered from this rebound and started spinning towards her again, but Aile had already backed away.

"What just happened!? I thought I was going to lose my arm there!"

**Hmm, I forgot that as well. I am equipped with a personal shield. It does not offer incredible protection, but it does negate a fair percentage of damage. And what does bleed through is absorbed by the armor, which is far stronger than it appears.**

"Anything _else_ you happened to forgot!?"

**I'm not sure. At least 97 percent of my main memory is blocked. I can only bring to your attention events that have already happened, such as the appearance of the personal shield. I only knew about charging, dashing, and such because they are the functions I am supposed to alert you to. That, and those particular functions are as natural to me as breathing is to you.**

"So let me get this straight. You can't tell me about any hidden functions unless I happen to stumble across them, right?"

**I'm afraid that is correct. Unless I manage to bypass my memory blocks, that is. And given that I have some damage that needs to be repaired first, and my automated systems deal with damaged sections before memory blocks, it seems unlikely that will occur anytime soon. I apologize.**

"Hope you understand if that comes as small consolation."

The Biometal didn't reply. Aile used the brief pause to dash rapidly under the spot where the whirling blade rested, narrowly evading it. Dodging two other similarly-placed devices, Aile finally emerged from the passage. Far up ahead, she could see a sheer wall of rock, with a metal door inset near the center. "That must be the rendezvous point. Home strech."

Aile started running towards the distant doorway, but slid to a halt as she heard a vaguely familiar rumbling. But where was it coming from?

**To your left.**

She turned left. There was the snake mechaniloid from earlier, but it seemed intent on moving on into the deep forest. At least, until it looked back and spotted her. With a hiss of anger, the thing turned and made a beeline for her. When it reached her, it stopped and hosted itself up, so that it towered over her.

What followed was something akin to a stare down: Neither wanted to move first.

After a minute or so, the snake finally decided to take the initiative. With a hissing roar, the behemoth launched itself at her. Aile dashed forward, just dodging the massive serpent, and started charging her buster. Then, she fired a full-power blast right at the machine's backside, only to stare disbelievingly as the powerful blast dissipated against the snake's well-armored hide. Unsure if another attack would have the same result, she withheld her stored charge shot, and decided to observe what the mechaniloid did next.

The snake turned and reared up to face her again. Then, the orbs along it's length started flashing, and the snake spat what appeared to be a glob of acid at the transporter, immediately lunging towards her just after it fired. Fortunately, Aile remembered her dash thrusters, and managed to boost sideways to avoid both threats. As the snake passed, Aile noticed something: the snake's head didn't share the same luster as the rest of the body. As though it were made of else…

**Why didn't I think of that before. The head must be made of a different composite to accommodate it's weapon, Aile. It might be vulnerable to attack.**

"Gotcha." Aile took careful aim. As the snake turned from it's lunge to face her again, Aile unloaded her stored charge shot right between it's eyes.

Given how the snake flailed about as the shot hit, that _had_ to be the weakpoint. But the snake immediately began moving around in an attempt to prevent her from hitting it again. However, that meant that it stopped attacking her in favor of dodging, allowing her to continue shooting at it.

A few lucky hits later, and the snake mechaniloid was writhing on the ground, it's eyes destroyed and it's head badly melted. Aile walked up to it and expertly delivered a fatal shot straight up it's maw, then jumped away as it thrashed about a bit before vanishing in a massive explosion.

"And that takes care of that." A sudden commotion caused Aile to raise her X-Buster in anticipation. Several dozen mavericks, apparently noticing the fall of what was probably their leader, were fleeing into the trees in an attempt to escape the blue-armored warrior. She didn't follow them.

"Looks like that cleared them out, too."

**Well done, Aile.**

"You said your name was Model X, right? Why exactly did you help me?"

The Biometal issued a noise. It almost sounded like a snort.

**Do I need a reason to help people? You were determined to help that Prairie girl even though the two of you had never met before. And when she refused to leave, you were prepared to throw yourself between her and the mavericks. I was attracted to your courage, and decided to give you a bit of power to back up your resolve.**

"Well whatever you did, it saved my hide." Aile stared somewhat sadly at the cannon still formed on her arm. "Bravery is all and good, but it isn't enough to fight the mavericks head-on with. I _wish_ it was, but…"

There was an odd hush, almost like Model X had opened it's mouth to say something, only to think better of it.

"Oh well. Let's just get to the rendezvous point. We can worry about that later."

* * *

Aile and her mental companion dashed towards the distant doorway, not noticing the figure observing from the forest's depths.

"She's got skill for someone thrust into combat for the first time. But only time will tell if she has what it takes. I hope you knew what you were doing when you picked her X."

Silently, the figure vanished into the trees.

* * *

AN: I tried to include Aile learning some of this stuff on the go, since she has to learn it from somewhere. She's not going to just simply know how to do all of this stuff by herself. And who better to school her in the art of battle than the mighty X?  
Also, I'd like it noted that this is the first problem with sealed memories that X and the other Biometals will have. Keep track of this, as it will probably be important later on.  
And the figure? You'll just have to wait. Said figure isn't going to show up until _much_ later.


	4. The Search for Giro

I've noticed that my chapters seem to keep getting longer and longer. Chpt 1 was 1523 words, chpt 2 was 1960, and chpt 3 was 2246. Now I've got this one, which is 3039 words long! I dunno if it means I'm getting better or anything, but at least it gives you guys more to read per chapter.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Four

The Search for Giro

* * *

"Sir… The mavericks sent to retrieve the Biometal have been…routed."

"Is that so? It would seem that the Guardians have found a Chosen One for their new Biometal. This may…complicate things. Hmm… I have a task for you two. Find both this new Chosen and the Chosen for Model Z, wherever they are. We still need their passwords to complete the preparations for Project Haven. Find them, and bring them to me."

"…"

"Hmph. Yea, fine. But only if I can take on Model Z's Chosen! I need some kind of challenge!"

"Very well, he's yours. But don't forget that the Biometal must be _intact_ for the passwords to be usable. Now get going."

"Yea, I got it."

"As you wish…"

* * *

The Guardian soldiers certainly hadn't been expecting Aile to come through the door. Well, Aile wasn't really sure who they were expecting, but it probably hadn't been her. Two of them just blinked at her unexpected appearance, while the third had the presence of mind to nudge his rifle slightly towards her, reminding Aile that she was still wearing her armor and buster.

_Model X, unmerge please._

**Right away.**

There was a flash, and Aile stood before them unarmored, Model X floating just next to her shoulder.

"I'm a transporter from Giro Express. I've brought your package."

The soldiers relaxed noticeably. "Oh, by the way, do you know someone named Prairie? She should be hiding out in Area A-1. I told her I'd get her some hel-"

"Wait, What!? Prairie's in trouble!?" Aile didn't even have time to nod before the three soldiers barreled out the door, nearly trampling her in the process. She glanced oddly after them as they charged into the forest.

"Wow, they're in a real rush. Prairie must be pretty important to them. I wonder…"

"Amazing… you've managed to link up with the Biometal."

Startled, Aile whirled around. She hadn't seen anyone other than the three soldiers. Standing on the other side of the transerver was a short reploid dressed in blue, who was gazing at her and Model X with undisguised admiration. "I'm glad it made it back safe and sound."

"Um, who are you?" Aile asked hesitantly. His admiring stare was making her nervous.

"Oh! My name's Fleuve. I'm the chief scientist for the Guardians." He seized her hand, and shook it vigorously. "Uh…right." _Something_ about this small reploid was really creeping her out, but she didn't know what. She mentally wished for some distraction, and then she remembered her boss. "Hey, has Giro shown up yet? My boss said he'd meet me here."

"No, you're the only one I've seen so far."

Without warning, the transerver's communications gear began beeping. Fleuve dashed over to the console and typed in a short code. "Channel clear. Go ahead."

"This is the rescue squad, We've found Prairie and the others! Prairie's fine, but Bar and Maquereau are hurt kinda badly. We're gonna head back to HQ."

Fleuve reached up and grabbed the comm. Unit. "Hold up on that Morue, have you seen another transporter out there? Apparently, Giro is wandering around there somewhere."

"Hang on, let me chec- Whoa! There's some serious smoke rising from Area B! Someone's under attack over there!"

"What!?" Aile practically yanked the mike out of Fleuve's hand, ignoring his protests. "Could Giro be over there!?"

"Uh, it could be him. Area B's not too far from here, He could have easily gotten into a scrap over there."

"No…Giro…" Aile dropped the mike, which was barely caught by Fleuve, but she didn't notice. Giro was in some kind of trouble. What did she do?

(Rescue him.) The thought flashed into being, but was immediately dashed. She had no idea where in Area B he was, and the abandoned highway construction site was filled with hiding places. Besides, it was full of mavericks, and she couldn't deal…with…

Aile shot a longing gaze at Model X. She could swear she heard the metal chuckling.

**You are my Chosen, Aile. I follow where you lead. It's your call.**

She realized what she had to do. Giro had saved her life ten years ago. The time had come to return the favor.

"Thank you, Model X."

Fleuve had observed this exchange, wondering what was going on. Model X floated straight at Aile, who seized the Biometal and vanished in a flash. The flash faded, revealing Aile decked out with the X-Armor. "Sorry Fleuve, but I need to borrow the Biometal for a bit longer. I'm going to help Giro!"

The scientist was suddenly livid. "What!? You would put the Biometal in risk again!? Absolutely not!"

Aile rounded on Fleuve, her jade eyes practically glowing with anger. "Oh, I see how it is! Now that your precious package is here, you don't even care about the guy who risked his life to make sure it got here!"

Fleuve quailed slightly under her gaze. "B-but."

Both of them failed to realize that the comm. was not shut off, and the rescue party was privy to their entire exchange. A voice issued from the speaker, one they both recognized.

"Fleuve! Enough! Let her go!"

The scientist turned from Aile to gape at the comm. device. "Prairie!? But, what about the Biometal!?"

"its okay, Fleuve. I know she'll keep Model X safe from the mavericks. I trust her."

Fleuve stared at the comm. for a moment, then sighed in defeat.

"Aile? You helped me even though you didn't know me at all, and you were willing to risk your life to save me. I have faith you." She paused for a second. "I'll clear it with HQ. Giro's an old friend, Aile, and I'd want to rescue him too if I were you."

Aile smiled. "Thank you Prairie." She turned to the Guardian scientist, who was looking blankly at the comm. Finally, he looked at Aile. "Fine, go on and save him. But you'd better bring that Biometal back safely!"

As she dashed out of the door, Aile flashed Fleuve a faint smirk. "Don't worry, I will."

* * *

It didn't take long for Aile to find the entrance to Area B. The moment she found the abandoned excuse for a construction site, she knew she was in the right place. There were broken mechaniloid bits all over.

"Looks like a war-zone out here. I could probably follow the trail of destruction right to Giro."

Aile took a grand total of two steps into the area before a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Aile? Come in, Aile."

"Wahh! Prairie!?" Aile spun around, but there was no Prairie to be found. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Guardian HQ. I'm pinging a signal off your Biometal's comm. gear. It's an innate part of the Biometal, and I can use it to contact you wherever you are."

"Okay, so the Biometal has a built-in radio. You remember that now, right X?"

**Actually, I already knew I had that. I didn't think anyone would be contacting us on it; it is somewhat outdated after all, so I didn't see the need to mention it.**

"I guess I can understand that. Okay, Prairie, what's up?"

"These maverick attacks recently… they're far too coincidental in my opinion. Something is up with the mavericks, and I intend to find out what. There's bound to be something in that mess Giro made that we can analyze. See if you can find anything useful, and bring it back when you find Giro, okay?"

Aile nodded. "Sure, I guess. Although, how can you tell that Giro left a mess in his wake?"

**I suspect she heard you mention it before she tried to contact you, Aile.**

She heard Prairie laugh. "Yup, that's how. Good luck finding Giro in that, Aile."

Following that was a faint click, which Aile assumed meant that Prairie had hung up. "Guess we should get going."

Although Giro had apparently committed genocide towards the maverick population in the area, there was no real shortage of robots with weapons intent on killing the nimble transporter. Most of them didn't last real long, while those that did were simply annoying.

**Duck!**

But Aile was already flattening herself behind some metal debris as the gun-like mechaniloid spat a trio of hardened spikes at her. "These things are _really_ annoying." She muttered to no one in particular. She'd already encountered three of these six-shot spike throwers, and she dealt with them the same way: wait until it exhausted it six rounds, then kill it while it reloaded. This one was no different, and she popped up and fired the moment the gun's second burst of spikes flew past.

It wasn't that they were difficult. It was just that she was in a hurry to find Giro, and all of these mavericks were slowing down that search.

**Well, there's a familiar-looking foe.**

Aile turned to see a group of mettaurs running towards her as fast as their little legs could carry them. It was almost comical, except that they had their tiny jolt batons pointed right at her, and they didn't look like much fun. Two charge shots scattered the little robots like leaves in a gale.

She turned to continue, since the gate that led to Area B-2 was in sight, but a faint glimmer caught her eye. There, in the remains of one of the gun enemies, was a broken control board. "This must be what Prairie meant. I'll hang on to this."

Or, she would try to, that is. "Hey X, doesn't this armor have any pockets?"

**There's a small pouch nestled in the side of the torso armor, about where your ribcage ends. It opens and closes much like the buster is formed: envision it to appear. I believe it was originally for storing E-Tanks.**

She did so, and a small section of armor slid out to reveal a small opening. She deposited the chip, and made the pocket disappear. "Maybe you should invest in a utility belt or something, X."

**And carry what in it? Bolts? All I need is my X-Buster, and that's really all ****you**** need at this point, anyway.**

"I suppose." Aile punched the button, and the door opened, allowing her access to Area B-2.

Area B-2 was about the same as B-1 had been, only there were no Gatling-gun-spike-throwing-robots-from-hell slowing her down. There were a bunch of galleon hunters though, but the X-Buster was more than a match for their weak armor, and she tore through them with relative ease.

**Is that a highway up ahead?**

"We call that Area D. And yes, it's a highway. It kind of acts like the buffer between Innerpeace and the Outlands."

Ahead of them, several dozen feet above, was the enormous highway itself. Although not many people traveled on it anymore, it served as a kind of marked edge. Area D was the outermost limit of the aegis of protection Slither Inc. provided to Innerpeace. Anywhere beyond that were the Outlands, where mavericks were as numerous as falling leaves, well, if falling leaves could take up weapons and kill you. Only for some dire purpose did anyone venture into Area D, let alone past it.

A low whirring noise jolted Aile out of her thoughts. Something was approaching. But where was it…?

There it was! A purple shape emerged from above the highway. It looked like a flying manta ray, with twin turbines on the fixed wings holding it aloft. It slowly settled not ten feet above her.

"Just what I needed. Another giant maverick to slow me down while I'm looking for Giro! I do _not_ have time for you!!"

She punctuated the last word with a charge shot right at the hovering craft's wing. Much to her surprise, the shot rebounded right off, obliterating a nearby stretch of metallic debris. "What!? I can't hurt it!?"

**Nothing is invincible Aile. It must have a weakness. the X-Buster obviously isn't it. Just calm down, and observe it.**

The craft floated above the ground for a few seconds, apparently trying to get the best position possible, and then opened its cargo hatch and dropped three boxes onto the ground below, right on top of one another.

Aile fired at the open cargo-hatch, but it had already closed, and the shot did nothing.

**Aile, those boxes! Look out!**

The boxes the craft had dropped glowed faintly as they came to life. The top and bottom boxes split to reveal cannons of some kind. The middle box extended a power cell, which connected to the two cannons. The cannons glowed for the briefest of seconds, then spat twin globs of energy at her. She moved to the side of the higher cannon shot, completely expecting the lower cannon shot to dissipate when it hit the ground.

She was completely caught off guard when the glob of energy _bounced_ off the ground and hit her square in the chest. It exploded, causing her to fly backwards.

"AAHHH!" Aile cried out in pain as the explosive force punched violently against her chestplate, sending her spinning to the ground. But she was far from out, and she carefully pushed herself upright, already noticing that the armor had protected her from the worst of it. But she knew she couldn't take another one of those attacks; that single shot alone had drained 21 percent of her armor's shields, and less shields meant more damage would bleed through onto her.

**Wha-? Aile, I'm impressed! You've learned how to instinctively know the status of the shield and armor. And it hasn't even been twenty-four hours yet! At this rate, you'll-**

"Get killed because I still don't know hot to _beat_ that thing!?"

Model X had no response to that, but Aile had the impression it felt sheepish.

"Sorry X, I'm not mad at you. I'm just trying to figure out how to do this, and you're kind of throwing my focus off."

**I'm sorry for distracting you then. Eh? Aile, Move!**

This time, Aile dove to the side, then slid under the shot as it bounced, evading both shots. But now, she was rightfully pissed.

"Stop shooting when I'm trying to figure out how to kill you!!"

She angrily fired a blast at the aggravating cannons. The energy splashed across power cell unit, which exploded. The force of the explosion caused the top cannon to shoot skyward with such speed that it clipped the craft's wing, which wobbled violently but stayed airborne. But what drew Aile's attention was the gouge the moving cannon had left on the wing.

"Gotcha! You said it had a weakness, and I think I found it, X! No armor can be simultaneously immune to physical impacts _and _energy-based attacks!"

As if someone had flicked a switch, the battle was suddenly a cakewalk. The craft had no other way of attacking Aile, except by dropping its cannons. And the cannons had to be accompanied by a power source. Aile simply shot the power source the moment it came on-line, causing the cannons to hit the closed cargo hatch. Three or four like attacks later and there was a loud grinding noise, as the craft's cargo hatch was so badly dented it could no longer be opened.

**Nicely done Aile.**

"Thanks. But, now what? I've got no other way of damaging it, and I'm not just going to let it hover there. How do I kill it now?"

"You don't, because I'll do it for you!!HIIYAAHHHHH!!"

There was a red blur, a terrible sound of metal ripping apart, and the craft suddenly split in half right down the middle. The pieces fell to either side of Aile, but she didn't notice. Her full attention was on the figure that just landed nearby.

He was clad in loose-fitting red armor, which seemed to emphasize mobility rather than defense. A black visor covered his eyes, and in his hand was a massive, arrowhead-shaped beam saber. He also had a long, blonde ponytail that looked remarkably familiar…

**So, this is the Chosen One for Model X?**

Aile glanced around rapidly. That voice had the resonance of a Biometal, but X hadn't spoken. Who had?

The figure spoke, as if in reply to the voice. "Yes. She's very special to me."

Aile jerked, not for being referred to as special by a stranger, but because the man's voice sounded very familiar.

"Who are you!?" She called. The man looked at her. Or at least, it appeared as though he was looking at her. "Sorry if I startled you, Aile."

He held his hand out, there was a flash, and Aile's jaw dropped.

"Giro!?"

* * *

AN: I'm not sure if I projected the right personality onto Fleuve, but I'm trying to give him the dedicated-to-his-work persona. He's so dedicated to keeping the Biometal safe, he briefly forgets about the ones that brought. Fortunately, Aile and Prairie are there to snap him out of that, and he should become the nice, friendly, data-managing Fleuve we all know and cherish in the game.


	5. An ex Guardian, a Stranger, and the Plan

This chapter is a bit different than the rest, not to mention a tad shorter, but I had to have this event happen at some point. It will be _very _important later on. Also, you get to see more of the unnamed observer, so no big loss. Enjoy.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Five

An ex Guardian, a Stranger, and the Plan

* * *

"_Who are you!?" She called. The man looked at her. Or at least, it appeared as though he was looking at her. "Sorry if I startled you, Aile."_

_He held his hand out, there was a flash, and Aile's jaw dropped._

"_Giro!?"_

* * *

Giro gave Aile an affectionate glance. "Hey there, Aile. It looks like you can merge with the Biometal as well."

"You knew about this!? Giro, just what is going on!?"

"Aile, calm down and let me explain. First, I should probably introduce my partner." There was a short flash, and a Biometal appeared near Giro's shoulder. Unlike Model X, this one was predominantly red and dark blue, with a light green gem set in what appeared to be the forehead. "This is my partner, Model Z. Z, this is my fellow transporter, Aile."

**Pleased to meet you, Aile.**

Giro nodded at the Biometal, which vanished in a flash, then turned back to Aile. "Aile, you and I are known as Chosen Ones. We have the power to merge with the Biometals. Unlike you though, I received my Biometal through a test period, when all the Guardians tried to merge with it to see who could. That's how I got Model Z."

"Giro, you're a guardian?"

The elder transporter grinned at her. "Well, I think the term would be 'ex-guardian'. I never actually quit, but I don't do missions for them anymore. Mostly because it's about then that I went and found you, Aile. Once I resolved to take care of you, I kinda just…left. But now, with mavericks appearing everywhere and you merging with Model X, I might just have to go back. It's too dangerous these days, and the Guardians could use some help."

"But, what about me, Giro?"

"Well, if you want, I could get you enlisted as my assistant in the field. I may not actively work for them, but like I said, I never quit either. That means I've got seniority to virtually everyone, except for maybe Fleuve and Silure. I don't think they'd ignore such a request, especially since you've got the Biometal."

Aile gaped. Be a member of the Guardians alongside Giro? "This is kind of sudden. I dunno, Giro…"

Giro walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aile, I would never force you into anything. You, and only you, can make this decision. I won't be disappointed if you refuse, and you have every right to." He smirked at her. "If memory serves, the Guardians don't have any good cooks, so the food is always terrible. In addition, there's that Cedre girl and her blasted-"

She shook her head, both to hide her small smile, and to get him to stop talking. "No, no, you're right. It's too dangerous for everyone with mavericks everywhere. If I can help find a way to get rid of them, then I'll do it."

He smiled at her. "Alright then. Here, take this." He pulled out a small card, and handed it to her. "That card has a transerver password on it; it'll let you trans into Guardian HQ, which we call Area X. I'm going to head back there now."

Aile blinked. "What, I can't come with you?"

"I need to let Prairie know I'll be doing field work for the Guardians again, and I'll tell her about your decision as well. But earlier, she asked me to grab something in Area C, and I'd hate to disappoint her. Think of it as an initiation of sorts. Can you grab that, and then meet me in Area X?"

"Sure, I can do that."

"Great, thanks Aile." Giro pointed at one of the towers holding the highway up. "There's an elevator over there that'll take you up to the highway. Once you get there, just head towards Innerpeace. That's the fastest way to Area C. There's a Guardian soldier in Area C-2 named Dorado, go talk to him. Okay? See you at the HQ, Aile! Just don't take too long, it'll be dark soon!"

Model Z appeared in a flash, and Giro vanished in a flash right after. Now clad in the Z-Armor once again, Giro started dashing towards Area B-1, while Aile looked after him. Model X appeared on her shoulder.

**I guess we didn't need to save him after all. He seems perfectly capable of taking care of himself.**

"I guess so… Hey, can we contact Prairie? I want to let her know what's going on."

**Hang on, let me check. My comm. gear may be archaic, but it's still effective. Hmm…I've isolated her frequency. Opening a connection…done. It's all yours, Aile.**

"Prairie, are you there? It's Aile."

Prairie's voice came through. "Aile!? I didn't think you could contact us here with that gear."

**You don't give me enough credit, Miss Prairie. I may be old, but I'm far from useless.**

Aile could swear the Biometal sounded smug.

"Right, what he said. Prairie, I've located Giro. He's heading to you right now. I'm going to pick up whatever he was supposed to pick up in Area C, then I'll head there as well, Okay?"

"Alright then, I'll see you when you get here. Bye."

"Bye." There was a click as Model X cut the connection. "Guess we'd better get going, X. We should hurry if we're going to get there before nightfall."

* * *

A muted hum was audiable as the elevator carried Aile to the highway far above. As it did, two reploids stepped out from behind the massive structure. One was dressed in grey and purple armor, while the other's armor was predominantly white with green and yellow here and there.

The purple-armored reploid lifted a hand to his helmet, and spoke. "Serpent, we've located both Biometals along with their carriers. They're heading to the Guardian Headquarters eventually.

"Well done Prometheus. So, they intend to join up with those mice? I believe I have a plan to lure them out of their holes. I will need both you and Pandora here when I put the plan in motion, so head back immediately."

"I got it. Prometheus out." Prometheus cut the connection, glared at the comm. as though to make sure it was off, then turned to his companion. "Sis, how much longer until _our_ plan is ready?"

"Umm… I'm not sure. Serpent's little…forays have distracted me from the preparations...I can't say for sure."

"Hmph. I'll see if I can take over handling the errands so you can focus on our project, okay?"

She nodded. "Alright… And what will you do about the Model Z Chosen?"

"I'll Fight him, of course. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted a challenge. That's not what worries me."

She gazed at him, her expression boardering on humored and exasperated. "Does _anything_ worry you, Prometheus?"

He met her gaze softly. "Well, I'm not sure what we'll do after we put the plan in motion, but I can figure that out along the way. After all, I'm good at making things up as I go along, aren't I?"

"Perhaps _I_ could offer a suggestion."

The two whirled around at the sound, activating their weapons as they did. "Who's there!?" Prometheus yelled out.

A figure was barely visible in the shadow of the highway far overhead. The shadows did the job of making it impossible to tell what he looked like. "Over here, you two."

They leveled their weapons at the figure, but he raised his hands in a placating manner. "Now now, I mean you no harm. You see, I know of your 'Crixus Project', but I can keep a secret. I merely wished to offer a suggestion on what you could do after your little...revolt."

Prometheus looked ready to leap forward, but Pandora gently pushed her brother's scythe aside. Then, she turned to the figure, dismissing her staff as she did. "I believe he can be trusted brother… We should listen to what he has to say."

"How could you possibly know if he's for real or not!? For all we know, he could be working for _him_!"

Pandora shuddered at the mention, but didn't falter. "So why would he offer to assist us? And I sense no malice from him, or father's touch…" She paused for a moment. "But then, I can't sense _anything_ from him. And yet…something about him tells me that he will do us no harm."

The purple-clad reploid said nothing, but relaxed and dismissed his scythe. "Fine, we'll listen. But I make no promises. And stand where we I see you! I like to see who I'm dealing with."

The figure chuckled mildly, but didn't move. "Sorry, but I can't be seen yet. As for who I am, one would simply call me an observer. Anyone who sees and knows me is liable to draw me into their problems, and I sorely dislike intervening."

"So…why speak to us and offer advice if you disdain such activity?"

"I don't consider this interfering. As for my advice, well, wandering through time as a faceless observer can get a bit lonely at times. I've been looking for someone I can confide in, as well as assist me in my observations, and you two fit the bill rather nicely. I suggest that you two join me, and I'll look out for you." The figure withdrew a card, which he expertly spun towards them. Pandora halted it before it hit them, and grasped it. "That card has coordinates of a safe house I've used in the past. Nobody knows where it is, except me. Have your reply to my query there and waiting two days after your current master falls. And he _will_ fall, make no mistake about that."

The figure turned to go, but Pandora's voice halted him. "Wait…you speak as if you already know what will happen…how?"

The figure chuckled again. "I know those two Biometals. Or, more accurately, I knew the heroes that currently inhabit them, even though they can't remember. And one of the many facts that I've learned during my travels is that together, those two are incapable of losing. I've seen them win so often, it has practically become the norm, even to me." The figure turned to face the siblings. "Whatever actions you may take during this...Project Haven...my offer will be there if you want it. Now you two should get moving, or your boss might get suspicious."

Prometheus and Pandora shared an uneasy glance, and vanished in a flash.

The figure, however, didn't move. In his mind, he was observing Giro jumping in to help Aile. It had looked so familliar, it almost hurt.

"So, once again, the God of Destruction appears out of thin air to save his beleaguered azure comrade-in-arms. Looks like some things never change."

Walking into the shadows, the figure vanished.

* * *

AN: I feel it necessary to point out that my personalities for Prometheus and Pandora, not to mention their relationship, will be somewhat different than how they're projected in the game (Although they essentially act the same in battle). As for the plan, well, it kind of speaks for itself. Google Crixus if you need an explanation. But I warn you, things are not as they appear, nor will they be until near the end. Tis not Serpent they seek to escape...  
And the observer once again makes himself known. I feel that I should put it out there for you to know: feel free to guess who this unknown is. I won't say who it is until _much_ later, but feel free to attempt to decipher this mysterious character.


	6. The Chaos that is Guardian HQ

You have no idea how difficult it was to write down and customize all this dialogue. But I got it, so enjoy Aile's foray through Hell. Er, I mean, the Guardian HQ. Close enough.

This story has over 300 hits, and yet a grand total of 13 reviews, all posted by about 5 people. I honestly don't mind if you simply like to read, since it's what I usually do myself, but if you have a comment or opinion, please don't hesitate to review it.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Six

The Chaos that is Guardian HQ

* * *

Aile knew that something was wrong the moment she entered Area C. First was the fact that there were dozens of Slither Inc.'s security mechaniloids around. Second was that said mechaniloids immediately turned red and raised their weapons at her as they spotted her. Not very keen on blowing them up, or getting shot at, Aile ducked out of the area rather quick. "Okay, something's up. Slither's never done security patrols in Area C. Why start now? And why'd they try to attack me?"

**Perhaps they heard about the maverick attacks nearby. As for attacking you, aren't they supposed to verify if you're a threat by if you carry a weapon or not?**

Aile glanced down. Decked out in the X-Armor as she was, she almost looked like a battle reploid, not to mention the X-Buster on her arm. "Yea, I think that's how they do it. Guess I can see why they thought I was a threat."

Aile unmerged with X, and entered the city again, this time with a less hostile greeting. "Let's just find this Dorado guy, and get out of here. As much as I appreciate Slither's defense force for keeping us safe, they make me uncomfortable."

**You have a personal dislike of this 'Slither' company? May I ask why?**

"It's kind of a long story, X, and I'd rather not talk about it right now."

**Oh. Alright.**

Wandering through the area, Aile had little trouble finding the Guardian soldier. He wasn't carrying a weapon, but he had not taken off his battle gear, so the civilians and security mechaniloids were giving him uneasy glances. She was probably the only one there who approached him.

"Are you Dorado?" He turned to her in mild surprise. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Aile extended her hand. "I'm Aile. Giro asked me to pick up something for him."

"Ah, right, as a kind of initiation, right?" She nodded. "Well, Prairie called me a minute ago about that, and she said there's something you should do first. One of our soldiers, a guy named Congre, is missing in the area. Knowing him, he probably got scared by the security patrols, and decided to hole up somewhere. I sent Carrelet and Oeillet to find him, but they haven't found him yet. Can you find all three, and tell them to trans back to HQ?"

"Uh, sure I guess."

"Thanks. I'd go find them myself, but Prairie said she wanted someone near the communication and data management unit over there in case she needed to contact us." He pointed across the street, where a low structure with a sign that read 'DATA' rested. "If you could get them back, I'd greatly appreciate it. And since Guardian initiation tests are typically to determine you ability to locate hard-to-find objects and data, this should be a good initiation test for you. Good hunting, Aile. And they should answer to their names, so be sure to call out to them."

* * *

It actually hadn't taken long to locate Congre. He was hidden in a low structure not too far from Dorado, yet well away from the security force. He had seemed relieved to be able to head back to HQ.

Oeillet and Carrelet must have split up to look for him, because she found the red-haired female Guardian alone. She hadn't been very happy about it, though.

"Huh? You found Congre for us? Aww, that means we did all that work for nothing."

Oeillet had transed right back, leaving only Carrelet to find. Ironically, she found him searching the very same low-rise structure that Congre had been hiding in.

"Oh, so he _was_ here. Thanks for finding him, Miss Aile. So, you're joining the Guardians, right?" She nodded. "That's good to hear. That means we'll have another person who actually tries to get things done. I look forward to working with you. See you at the HQ."

* * *

Dorado seemed surprised at their swift return. "Wow, that was only 10 minutes or so. You're good."

**Well, it helps if you have someone who can float through walls helping with your search.**

As part physical matter, part electronic data, X could peek into buildings by simply going through the walls. His help had been essential.

"Yea, I suppose it would. Anyways, thanks for finding them. Here, this is what Giro was supposed to pick up for Prairie. Think of it as a certification for passing the initiation."

He placed something soft in her hand. Aile looked down at it, and suppressed a giggle. "A stuffed animal? It's cute, but is this really what Prairie wanted picked up?"

The Guardian soldier smirked at her. "Yea, we all kinda had the same reaction when we first joined. But that is one of Prairie's most prized possessions, and she guards that thing like you wouldn't believe. Please try to take care of it. I'll see you later."

With a flash, the soldier disappeared as he transed to HQ.

"Guess we should head to the HQ as well. X, you think it would be faster if we took the highway to Area B, or should we head across the city to Area A?

**Well, the highway and Area B would probably be faster, but I suppose it depends on whether or not you want to go through mavericks on your way there.**

"Good point. Plus, I should probably try to keep out of combat with this stuffed animal, so I guess we're going through the city."

**In that case, the fastest way would be to circle around that building over there.**

He mentally gestured at a low building on her right. And, Aile noticed with some glee, there was a large truck parked just next to it. "Okay, watch this."

She ran straight for the truck, jumped into the air, and grabbed onto the top bar. Flipping onto the top, she ran along its length and repeated the process for the building itself, pulling herself effortlessly onto the roof.

Model X blinked at her. **Okay, how did you do that? I may be wrong, but I didn't think humans could jump quite that high.**

"You're supposed to be pretty old, right? You must not realize what it means to be human in this day and age. Let me see if I can explain it. What do you know about the relationship between reploids and humans?" Aile asked, jumping off the building onto a lower one beyond it.

**Only that it's pretty strained, for the most part. I figured you and Giro were an exception.**

"Not anymore it's not, although Giro and I are probably closer than most. Humans and reploids have made a bunch of changes to eliminate their differences. Nearly all reploids built in this day and age have artificial lifespans, so they will grow, live, and die just like a human ages. Plus, many reploids look so much like humans on the outside, there's virtually no difference. As for humans, it's standard nowadays for humans at birth to be fitted with artificial muscular supports, which are commonly called 'cybernetic implants', making them stronger so they can match up to reploids and their mechanical strength. Plus, those same implants dramatically reduce the amount of work done by the human heart, nearly doubling the human lifespan. There's a mess of technical mumbo-jumbo mixed in, but the idea is that we're slowly and steadily eliminating the differences between our races. Granted, some things can't be changed, such as reploid components being entirely incompatible with organic ones, so there won't be any reploids transplanting their kidneys into a human or anything, but I think the fact that we're making the effort is what really counts."

"Okay, hold on." She leapt off the low roof, rolling as she hit the ground and coming right back onto her feet. "As for the jumping onto roofs and stuff, I'm a transporter. Occasionally, I need a method of running swiftly from point A to point B, and the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So I usually take that straight line if I'm in a hurry."

**Oh, I see. That makes sense.**

"Yea, I thought so too. That's exactly what I said when Giro taught me all this."

She paused at a split in the road. "Now, which way is it again?"

**I can sense the transerver straight ahead.**

"Gotcha. Thanks X. We should be there any minute now."

* * *

The transerver came to life with a hum as it detected an incoming signal. The device activated, and Aile appeared with a flash.

Standing in the room waiting for her were Prairie and Giro. Giro looked vaguely impatient. "What took you, Aile?"

"I was playing hide-and-seek with some Guardians for an initiation. Speaking of which, Prairie, is this yours?"

She handed Prairie the stuffed animal, which Prairie held lovingly. "Yes, this was a gift from my Sis. It holds a lot of memories for me. Thank you for bringing it back."

"Not a problem. Oh, yea! I picked up an OS board for you to analyze in Area B. I think X still has it though."

There was a flash, and X appeared, along with the broken part.

**Here it is, Prairie. It's a bit damaged, but you should be able to get something useful out of it.**

"Thanks, you two. I'll analyze it right away." She took the part from X.

Giro tapped Aile on the shoulder. "Aile, Prairie has higher rank than I do, you can't just call her by her first name."

Prairie shook her head. "It doesn't matter, Giro. Besides, I hate titles, you know that."

The pink-clad Guardian turned to Aile. "Aile, I'd like to apologize for the danger I put you and Giro in. Now, I'm sure you have questions. Let's meet on the bridge, and I'll explain everything."

"Bridge?" Aile looked out the window. To her surprise, she saw clouds and earth far below. "Guardian HQ is an airship?"

"Well, the Guardians have to explore the world in order to investigate the mavericks, and an airship provides a convenient means of staying mobile. Feel free to explore the ship and meet everyone, then come and join me on the bridge. Giro, can you come with me?"

Giro sighed. "Yea, sure. Hey Aile, don't take too long exploring this bucket. We've got a lot of things to cover."

Prairie left the small transerver room, Giro right behind her. "Guess we're exploring, X."

**Why does this feel familiar? 'Go and introduce yourself to everyone'. I know I've heard that before…**

"We don't need to meet absolutely _everyone_, X."

**Good. I wasn't planning on it.**

* * *

"Hmm, you're Aile from Giro Express, aren't you?"

"Um, yes. And you are?"

The gray-bearded man smiled warmly at her. "The name's Silure. I'm the head mechanic. I keep this airship in one piece."

Aile glanced around. Just about every surface looked worn, but seemed to be extremely well cared for. "You seem to be doing a good job with that."

"Hah! Why thanks, Aile. At least you compliment it, all Giro does is laugh whenever something goes amiss. I swear, Giro was probably a bigger pain than some of the new recruits around here, maybe even Cedre. Say, speaking of…" He leaned closer to Aile, and whispered. "Did he ever insult my boat when I wasn't around?"

Aile took a liking to the old mechanic. She didn't want him to be upset at Giro though…

**Does 'bucket' count as an insult?**

Apparently, Model X didn't have any problems with it.

To her surprise, he didn't get angry at the insulting word, but rather stared at Model X with a faint reverence. "So, you're Model X. I heard that you had chosen to throw this girl into the heat of battle, X."

X looked faintly sheepish, and Aile was about to tell the old man off, but he spoke first. "Tell me, X. Are things so bad that we must put the weight of the world on her shoulders?"

Model X said nothing, but slowly nodded.

"I see… I guess that shows how desperate these times are. I suppose I can't talk you out of it, seeing as you both seem committed to seeing this through. But you two better take care of each other out there."

And with that, the old mechanic wandered off, leaving Aile and X to their thoughts.

* * *

"Aile! Hey, Aile!"

She turned at the call. There was a Guardian soldier with a sling on his arm running towards her.

**You look familiar. Were you with Prairie during the attack?**

"Yea…I got kinda banged up by that snake before you two stepped in. Thanks for saving us, by the way." The soldier extended his free hand. "My name's Bar."

She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Bar. I hope you and your friend are okay."

"Maquereau? Yea, he'll be fine. He's still out of it though, but Muguet said he'd pull through. Have you met Muguet yet?" Aile shook her head. "No? Good for you, try to keep it that way. She's our head doctor. She and Rose take care of us when something gets the best of us. But…" He shrugged. "Personally, I think Muguet nags _way_ too much for my liking, even if her treatment's top notch. Rose is more gentle and she's kind of shy, so she's more my type. Come to think of it, you remind me of Rose in a couple of ways. You should meet her."

A female voice, both loud and commanding, issued forth from a few floors up. "Bar! Where are you!?"

Said soldier paled considerably. "Shoot, she's _still_ after me!? I don't need any painkillers; I'm not feeling any pain! Why can't she leave me alone!?"

He took off like a shot, while Aile and Model X gave blank stares to where he'd been standing less than a second ago.

* * *

"Well hey there, girlie. Your name is Aile, correct? My name's Cedre. Hmm…"

Aile was in what appeared to be an armory, now with a wild-eyed red-haired Guardian circling her, eyeing the transporter up and down. It was really making Aile nervous.

"Um, what are you-?"

"Hmm, you're kinda cute, girlie, but I'm probably the better-looking one here." The red-haired girl peered at her for a second. "Although, you could probably give Prairie a run for her money."

"Um…thanks?" Aile replied weakly. Cedre shook her head.

"Don't thank me, it's not saying much. _Everybody_could give Prairie a run for her money, maybe even Muguet. Nobody can take that girl seriously, not so long as she insists on carrying that doll of hers around. To top it off, she can't seem to take anyone else seriously while she has it! Take me for instance. I'd have been in the field if she hadn't assigned me to HQ, and all because I wanted to blow some mavericks up."

Cedre went to a rack, and grabbed a large rectangular tube. "I mean, I've got this lovely rocket launcher that I've been _dying_ to use, only I can't use it, cause Prairie thinks that I'm too 'hot blooded'; too unstable! Do you think I'm unstable, Aile?"

Had Cedre been looking at Aile, she would have realized that she was loosely holding the business end of the launcher not two inches from Aile's face. Poor Aile's eyes were about as big as dinner plates. "U-ummm…N-no! I don't, I don't think s-so…"

"Hah! I knew someone agreed with me!" Cedre casually tossed the launcher onto its rack, then eyed the weapon for a second. "By the way, what do you think of my launcher? Real nice, huh?"

Cedre turned, only to realize that she was alone. Aile had dashed off while she'd been eyeing the weapon. "Well! Nobody will take her seriously if she just runs off in the middle of a conversation. Really…"

* * *

Aile panted as she leaned against the wall. "X, remind me not to seek her out again. _Please_?"

**I couldn't agree more. She was…scary. Enough so to scare **_**me**_**, and I don't scare easily.**

After a moment, Aile's breathing slowed back to normal. "Okay, let's head up to the bridge, and pray she doesn't come after us."

She took three steps, when a tiny voice yelled out, "BANG!!"

Aile jerked in surprise as an object adhered itself to her forehead."…Huh?"

"Hahaha, gotcha!"

A little reploid kid scrambled over as Aile absently plucked the tiny dart off her forehead. "Hey, I haven't seen you before. What's your name, Ma'am?"

"Uhh…Aile."

"Ooh, Aile. That's a pretty name. I'm Sardine! Pleased to meetcha!"

The little kid grabbed her hand and shook it rapidly, while Aile stared at the little kid in front of her, her thoughts spinning around her head. Two major thoughts were, (Aw, what a cute kid) and a bit more prominent, (Is _nobody _on this ship sane!?).

"I see you've met our youngest member yet."

Sardine immediately plucked the dart from Aile's hand, loaded it into his little toy gun, and fired it with a small yell, all in about two seconds. The dart impacted squarely on Carrelet's head. "Neh. Another good shot, as usual kid." The normally-serious Guardian soldier was smiling faintly as he plucked the dart and tossed it back to Sardine. "Thanks again for helping me and Oeillet find Congre earlier, Miss Aile. I don't think I properly introduced myself. I'm Carrelet. I hope Sardine here hasn't been bothering you too much." He held out his hand, which Aile shook politely.

**Ah, a sane one. Finally.**

Carrelet blinked at Model X, then rolled his eyes. "I take it that means you've met Cedre, right?" He almost, _almost _smirked at their expressions. "I'll take that as a yes. Cedre's a bit of a loose cannon, I'm afraid. I think the only reason we keep her here is because she'd do more harm than good if we left her to her own devices. Well, that, and she seems to be the only one on this boat that can keep Sure-Shot here out of the armory. You know…" He paused for a second. "I'd bet that he would make a good Chosen for Model Z. I hear that Z only went with Giro because he was about as wild as could be, back then. Although I shudder to think what would have happened if Z picked Cedre."

Sardine jumped up and down. "Yea, that'd be awesome! I could be a Chosen One, right Aile? Right!?"

**Sorry kid, you're a bit too short for my liking.**

Sardine spun around and fired, but Giro expertly plucked the dart out of the air before it hit Model Z. "There you are, Aile. You know, Prairie and I have been waiting a good twenty minutes for you to show up, so she sent me to find you."

"Aww, you made me miss…"

Giro blinked with mild astonishment at Sardine, then turned to Carrelet. "Hey, who's the runt? Furthermore, why exactly is a kid on a vessel of war anyways? Well, ignoring the fact that the kid actually hits what he aims at…"

"Well, Sardine here may not look like much, but he's got a skill no other Guardian has, not even you."

Giro gave Sardine a mock glare. "Is that so… And what, pray tell, can the squirt here do that you and I cannot?"

"He can _Cook_."

Giro blinked, then immediately gave a mock bow to Sardine. "I take back all the names I ever called you, and all the ones I ever will call you, because I _will_ call you more. You have earned my respect for being the only one here with any culinary talent. Bravo, O tiny one."

Smirking, Giro turned to Aile. "You know, I might just get used to living here again. And Aile, your cooking is pretty edible, so we shouldn't have to worry too much."

"As long as you don't try to cook again, Giro. I think we all remember what happened _last_ time."

Giro looked sheepishly away, and Aile blinked. "What'd he do, Carrelet?"

Carrelet almost smirked. "Well, you see, we used to have two bases: a permanently fixed structure, and this airship. I recall it was about 15 years or so ago... It was Giro's turn to fix breakfast, and he somehow managed to burn down the entire complex in about half an hour. Oh, the look on Prairie's face when she got there to find it still smoldering..." Carrelet actually smirked "I thought she was going to _kill_ him! It took all of us just to pull her off him, and she might have gotten us off and gotten him again if Giro hadn't taken off right then."

Giro's face was a bright red color, while Aile and Sardine were giggling madly. "Hey, it was an accident! Stop laughing! It isn't funny!" When they ignored him, he got a dangerous glint in his eye. "Alright then. I seem to recall a certain incident, a few years back, where your 'pasta flambé' experiment exploded and set Congre on fire. I heard it took you guys an entire _month_ just to find him, and another week to convince him to come back! No wonder the poor guy's scared of everything!"

Now it was Carrelet who was bright red. "H-hey, that wasn't _my_ fault! Moure's the one that screwed that up! And shouldn't you be on the bridge by now!?"

"Yea, we should." Giro turned to Aile, who was still giggling. "Come on, Aile, pack up the giggles, we need to go see Prairie."

"A-alright. Just let me catch my breath."

Giro waited as she panted for breath. Finally, she stood up. "Okay, I'm good."

They headed for the elevator nearby, Aile waving goodbye to Sardine and Carrelet as she did.

The elevator rose in silence. Well, for most of the ride, that is.

"So, Aile, about how close did Cedre get her beloved rocket launcher to your face?"

She gave Giro a blank look, then held her hands about two inches apart.

"Yea, that sucks alright. But that's all she did, right? She put it away right after?"

Aile nodded. Giro's eye twitched.

"Lucky you..."

Aile blinked in surprise. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let me repeat that then. 'Lucky you', Sarcasm implied. Cedre _fired _it at me."

* * *

AN: I need to get the dialogue for the next segment written down, so the next few chapters may take a bit longer to show up. But since they'll probably incorporate the most important event in my storyline, plus the storylines following this one if I can finish this one off, it should be well worth any waiting.


	7. Defense of Area D

I added the chaotic look to Guardian HQ for last chapter in an attempt to produce a slightly lighter atmosphere before this, the main serious event. Somewhat like the calm before the storm.

The next chapter or two might take a bit longer, since I'm having trouble working a few kinks out of this one part. Hopefully, it won't take too long, but only time will tell.

Just FYI, I'm trying to make it easier to identify the various operators by how they refer to Prairie. Tulip calls her Ma'am, Marguerite calls her Commander, and Gardenia just calls her Prairie.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Seven

Defense of Area D

* * *

The door hissed open, and Giro and Aile walked onto the bridge of Guardian HQ. Unlike most of the other rooms on the ship, the command bridge was both large and spacious. Near the front, where the massive window allowed everyone to see in front of the ship, an extravagant ring-shaped console was set up, right below the immense window, with plenty of room for the three female operators that now manned the consoles. Above the lower consoles, right in the exact center of the command center, was a slightly raised platform manned by a single, very detailed console, and two chairs. Sitting in the larger chair was Prairie, while her stuffed animal sat in the tiny chair next to hers.

Prairie turned when she heard the door hiss open. "Ah, you're here." Prairie turned the chair around, and stood up. "How do you like our HQ, Aile?"

Aile smiled politely. "Well, it's great. Not counting the rocket launcher incident."

Prairie rolled her eyes. "Well, unfortunately, you may never get used to Cedre."

She cleared her throat. "Now, our last greeting was a bit strained, so I feel I should properly introduce myself." She squared her shoulders, giving her a commanding, almost regal look. "I am Prairie, Commander of the independent volunteer defense taskforce, commonly known as the Guardians."

"Wait, what? You're commander of _all_ the Guardians?" Given how respectfully the other Guardians referred to Prairie, Aile had figured she was someone of importance, but 'commander' was not high on her list of suspected titles.

Giro nodded. "Right. She's an important person, not to mention an important client. That's why I wanted you referring to her by title. Even if she doesn't like titles." He added, as Prairie shot him a glare.

"But, Prairie looks about my age." Aile protested.

Prairie gave her a faint smile. "Well, I'm older than I look, Aile."

"Even so, the Guardians have been around for more than a century!"

Prairie's smile faded. "That's a long story, and I should probably start at the beginning. A long time ago, about two centuries or so, there was a great war between reploids and humans. It ultimately resolved in the creation of a madman, who tried to destroy everyone that would not be subverted by his rule. A great hero destroyed him, and humans and reploids realized that they could not survive with such prejudice between their races, so they agreed to a truce. However, this madman had created thousands of robots, reploids, and mechaniloids for the sole purpose of sowing disorder in the world. They are the precursor to the mavericks we deal with today. Only… Nearly all of those mavericks were destroyed long ago. There should be no reason for the outbreaks we have today. The Guardians were created to discover the source of these maverick outbreaks, and eliminate it."

"One day, we discovered a research laboratory belonging to a… certain scientist."

Prairie looked away. "That scientist was the former Commander of the Guardians. She was also my Sis…" Aile realized that Prairie was trying to hide the tears threatening to form in her eyes. "She vanished years ago…"

"Oh…I'm sorry."

Giro attempted to diffuse the situation by changing the subject. "And if memory serves, you found the two Biometals at that lab, the second of which we ended up delivering to you."

Prairie's expression said she was thankful for the change in direction, and she met their eyes again. "Right. As I mentioned, the world back then was saved by a hero, but he wasn't the only one. Our data on them is incomplete, but we believe that the Biometals contain the essence, power, and possibly some memories of these great heroes. And since they were created around the time when mavericks were much more prominent, they might contain data that could tell us what is causing these outbreaks today."

"Speaking of, Aile." Giro spoke up. "You should probably take Model X to Fleuve, and see if he can't get any of said data out of it."

"Wait, Fleuve?" Aile recalled her earlier meeting with Fleuve, after she had defeated the snake mechaniloid. "But, what if he won't give it back?"

Giro rolled his eyes. "Aile, you're going to join the Guardians, right?" She nodded. "Then there's no reason why he'd keep it from you. Plus, even if you weren't going to join, and he kept the Biometal, it wouldn't do him any good."

"Why not?"

Prairie spoke up. "When you transformed with Model X, you and Model X formed a type of bond. It's the same bond Giro has with Model Z, the bond between a Chosen One and their Biometal, and we call this bond a Biomatch."

There was a flash, and Models X and Z appeared over their respective Chosen.

**Correct.** Model X spoke. **And once we have formed a Biomatch, that bond is permanent. We cannot merge with any other Chosen, and our Chosen cannot merge with any other Biometal. At least, as far as we know.**

**And since this kind of bond can only be broken by the death of our Chosen, it would be useless to keep Model X from you, Aile. At this point, you and only you can use his power.** Model Z concluded.

"Oh. I see."

Prairie nodded, and sat down. "Fleuve's personal lab is right next to the bridge. Take the Biometal there, and have him analyze it for any data we can use.

"Ma'am!" The purple-haired operator called out. "We've got another encryption deciphered. Only a couple more to go."

Prairie turned to them. "Good job, Tulip. You and Marguerite keep at it; I'll help you in a second. And I thought I told you to take a break, Gardenia. You've been at that console for several hours already. Go get some rest."

One of the blonde operators, who sported a red headset with antennae on the sides, started typing madly along with Tulip, while the other blonde operator gave a sigh and maneuvered her headset around the white bandana she wore.

Prairie turned to Giro and Aile. "Go on, get the Biometal analyzed. I'll be working on the board Aile brought back from Area B."

She turned and started typing at her own console, a rather pointed indication that they were dismissed.

Giro headed for the door, right behind the departing Gardenia. "Come on Aile."

* * *

"Ah, good, I have been waiting for you. Now, may I see this Biometal?"

Even if Giro, Prairie, and the Biometals said that Fleuve wouldn't just take the Biometal, Aile still felt a bit uneasy as she handed the scientist Model X.

Fleuve placed the Biometal into a small tube, and inserted it into one of the openings on his large computer. Reams of data immediately began pouring across the screen, and Fleuve began typing. It took about a minute, with Fleuve muttering, "Ah, excellent" every few seconds or so. Finally, the data stopped. "Data transfer complete. Much appreciated. You can take the Biometal back now."

Fleuve withdrew the cylinder, and Model X floated back to Aile.

The scientist continued typing at the computer, accenting his work with an odd frown here and there. "Hmm… It seems that most of the data is corrupt. However, it does have slightly more data than Model Z did."

**Well, excuse me for being so badly damaged I could hardly think straight, let alone give you data you could use.**

Fleuve glanced over at Model Z. "Hmm, you do seem to have recovered most of your components."

**I believe that I have successfully repaired 88 percent of my physical damage since we last met. It has been more than a decade, after all.**

"Then, perhaps I could analyze you again, and get someth-"

**No.**

Model Z spoke with such certainty, such force, that Aile chuckled under her breath.

Fleuve looked ready to argue the point, when a piercing alarm klaxon sounded.

"Attention! Mavericks have been detected approaching Area D! All Guardian ground forces move out to the designated areas. Mission objectives will be relayed to unit commanders upon arrival. I repeat…"

Giro jerked. "Area D…That's right next to Slither Inc.'s head office!"

Fleuve nodded. "Get to the bridge, Prairie might need your help for this!"

* * *

Prairie turned the moment they entered the bridge. Prairie looked like she was about to speak, but stopped when somebody ran into Aile from behind. The operator Gardenia caught Aile before she fell over, gave Prairie a scathing look, then dashed to her console.

Prairie gazed at her for a second before finally deciding it wasn't worth it, and turned back to the transporters. "Our enemy is on the move."

Giro blinked. "Wait, define 'enemy'."

"Well, remember what I said earlier? That there was no reason for the maverick outbreaks today? Well, it turns out that there was no reason. Simply put, they aren't mavericks. Embedded in the board Aile found is a control program of some kind. Somebody is controlling these so-called 'random maverick outbreaks'. My best guess is that their intention was to steal the Biometals."

"Commander!" Marguerite yelled. "The Mavericks have entered Area D-1! They're moving towards Area C, and fast!"

"What!?" Aile ran up next to Prairie's chair. "What about Slither's security force? Where are they?"

"Hold on…" Tulip typed away for a second. "They're being redeployed to the border between Area C and Area D, but it's taking time. The bulk of their units are scattered all over the city."

"Prairie, the vanguard of our ground forces have made contact with the mavericks in Area D-1. They've reported that they are exchanging fire." Gardenia reported.

"Put the vanguard on the main comm."

A screen appeared in the middle of the main viewport, and a Guardian soldier appeared on it. Given the look on his face, and the chaos in the background, the situation wasn't pretty. "HQ, Maquereau reporting! The mavericks are approaching the residential area, and they just keep coming! We're exchanging fire on the highway, but we can't hold them off forever! I've got about 20 soldiers, and this highway is 50 meters wide! If they manage to flank us again, we'll have no choice but to pull back!"

"Hold them as long as you can, Maquereau. Pull out if the situation gets out of control."

Maquereau flinched as something exploded behind him. "Ma'am, that might not be too long from now! You'd better get the main force in here quick, or we'll lose our defensive position! Vanguard out!"

The screen went blank, and vanished. Prairie turned to her operators. "Marguerite, what's the status of the force from the main base?"

"_Main base?"_ Aile whispered to Giro.

"_They rebuilt it about two years after it, uh, burned down. The bulk of the Guardian force stays there."_

"_Oh."_

"Unknown, Commander. They're moving into Area D from Area B, but they're encountering some opposition from the Slither units already in the area. Apparently, the defense force is shooting anything that carries a weapon. We'll only be able to get about 80 personnel safely into Area D before Slither's main force shows up…"

An alarm suddenly sounded. Tulip abruptly stopped typing and turned to Prairie. "Ma'am, the Vanguard has lost their first position. They're being forced back to their second defensive position."

"How many soldiers from the main force are in Area D?"

"Thirty-one, Ma'am. They're already moving to support the vanguard, but that might not be enough."

Suddenly, another alarm sounded. Gardenia typed madly, then her eyes widened. "Prairie, there are two other maverick battalions moving on Innerpeace from Areas E and F! Slither's security force is being rerouted to Area E, and our main force is requesting orders concerning the enemies in Area F!"

Prairie sighed. "Area B is indefensible. Send as many soldiers to the border between Areas B and F as necessary, and send the remainder to Area D to assist the vanguard."

"Prairie, the main force is reporting that they will need the _entire_ main force to defend Area B!"

Prairie paused. "…How close are we to Area D?"

Gardenia checked. "Um…8766 kilometers. Given our speed, not extremely far."

Prairie nodded. "Set course for Area D, maximum thrust. Make our altitude 250 meters. Order the main force to the Area B/F border." Prairie suddenly sighed, and picked up the comm. "Silure, please bring me the failsafe bypass codes for the weapon systems."

All typing ceased, as all three operators turned to gape at Prairie. The weapons of Guardian HQ would probably be enough to destroy the entire maverick force, but they would probably destroy Area D in the process. There was a reason there were failsafe codes, after all.

Prairie coolly met the gazes of all three operators. "At this point, we have little choice. Either we destroy the mavericks with what we have, or we risk losing Innerpeace. Contact the vanguard, and tell them to be prepared to evacuate the area."

A beep drew Marguerite back to her console, and she blinked. "Um, Commander? Aile just transferred to Area D."

"_WHAT!?_" Giro spun around, and realized that she was no longer there.

Prairie had a similar reaction. "Hail her right now! Tell her to get back here immediately!"

"Ma'am, her Biometal is squelching our signal! We can't reach her!"

Giro facepalmed. He knew what was driving her actions, but that didn't make it any less annoying. "Why can't she ever be patient?" He then charged off the bridge towards the transerver, completely ignoring his own words.

Prairie just sat there, her eye twitching madly. Then, she sighed heavily. "Silure? Nevermind about the codes." She put down the comm. and started massaging her forehead. "Ugh, I had expected something like this from Giro, but Aile?"

The operators glanced at each other, shared equal smirks, and went back to typing.

* * *

Maquereau cursed as yet another one of his flank soldiers went down. He was down to about 25 soldiers out of both the original vanguard of twenty, and the thirty one from the main. Plus, the mavericks had begun to flank them again. "Fall back! Fall back to the third defensive position!"

Some of them started to. Most stubbornly refused to go however, and continued firing into the numerous hordes of mavericks coming at them like a tidal wave. They only had the third defensive position left before Area C itself.

"Dammit, I said fall ba-"Maquereau was suddenly cut off by a huge blue-white energy ball, which lanced into the maverick flank and tore it to shreds.

The vanguard started cheering as Aile dashed towards them and the mavericks threatening to overwhelm them, X-Buster firing all the way. "Maquereau, right? Good to see you've recovered from earlier! How can I help?"

Maquereau smiled despite himself. "Good to see you too, Aile! If you can overtake their right flank, we might be able to retake this position!"

Aile nodded, and headed for the right. Maquereau yelled over the squad's comm. "Okay, guys, new plan! We're fighting alongside the Chosen One, so don't disappoint! All units flank left! Let's retake this position!"

There was a universal yell of approval, and the Guardians surged forward.

* * *

"Ma'am, Aile has linked up with the vanguard! They're fighting to retake the second defensive position."

Prairie nodded. "Good to hear. How long until we can get them some reinforcements?"

"The main force reports that they're successfully containing the enemies in Area F. They should be able to send about 50 troops in ten minutes or so."

"Prairie, I've picked up Giro's signal. He's moving towards the enemy."

"How long until he reaches Maquereau and Aile?"

"He should intercept the vanguard in about 22 seconds."

"Contact Maquereau. Tell him to push the mavericks back to the D-1/D-2 border, and tell him to hold them there until reinforcements arrive."

* * *

"Aile!"

Aile risked a glance behind her, and saw Giro rampaging towards her, cutting down mavericks effortlessly with his saber. "Giro, I…"

"I know, I know, you didn't want anyone to end up like your mother did. I understand. But next time, let me know first! I swore I'd protect you, and I can't do that if you go running off on me!" He flashed her a devil-may-care smirk, reminiscent of a younger, wilder Giro. "I'm going ahead to thin their numbers a bit! You follow, and pick up what I miss, okay?"

And he charged ahead, effortlessly cutting straight through the center of the enemy ranks with his sword.

"Go on, Aile!" Maquereau yelled. "We can take care of them here if you cut them off at the source!"

She nodded, and followed Giro's swathe of destruction to Area D-2.

* * *

"Prairie, the vanguard has successfully repelled the enemy threat from Area D-1. However, they report that Aile and Giro continued into Area D-2."

"What? Contact Giro, and tell him to return to the vanguard, and tell him to bring Aile with him."

Suddenly, there was a piercing whine across the bridge. Tulip immediately squelched the source of the noise. Then, her eyes widened considerably. "Ma'am, someone's _jamming_ us! We can't contact the ground forces, or Giro!"

"_WHAT!?_" Prairie stood up abruptly. "Can we break through it!?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. Maybe."

Prairie sat down, and transferred some of their tactical network to her console. "All three of you work on breaking through that interference. I'll try to figure out _who_ is jamming us. Get on it!"

All was silent on the bridge, save for frenzied typing.

* * *

Giro winced, then rolled sideways to evade a plasma shot, as a whine came over his comm. "Model Z, what is that?"

**Hmm…Someone is jamming our frequency. I might be able to scrub the signal, but that would take time and focus, and we are hard-pressed for both.**

"Don't bother. Someone intended to cut us off when Aile and I headed this way, and they succeeded. A well sprung trap indeed, but this could go both ways. Prairie said someone was turning the wheels of these mavericks, and this might just be the best way to find out who that someone is. Cut the comm. off for now, and let me know if the interference fades."

**Understood.** The whine ceased as Z cut the connection.

The mavericks were thinning out, and it was steadily becoming easier to mow through them. In addition, the highway narrowed as one approached Slither Inc.'s head office, which he could spot up ahead, making it a bit easier to kill more mavericks in a single slash.

Suddenly, he was alone. The mavericks had seemingly vanished, leaving him alone in front of the Slither Inc. building. But he knew from experience that it was never that easy…

"Greetings, Chosen of Model Z."

Giro turned slowly. There on his right were three figures. The one in the rear commanded respect, seeing as he towered over his two companions, although he didn't seem geared for combat. The girl on his right was wearing armor and had a staff of some kind, but she made no move to attack him. The final figure commanded his attention, though, since he was walking towards Giro with a massive beam scythe held to his side.

"I've been hoping to have the opportunity to fight you and your champion, Model Z. My name is Prometheus. I've been dying for a challenge, so you'd better live up to my expectations."

Slowly, Giro held his saber to a ready position, and his opponent did likewise with his scythe. Then, with twin yells, the two warriors launched themselves at each other.

* * *

"Whoa!"

Aile dove to one side, barely dodging the purple bolts of energy fired at her. Her attacker, a giant robotic bee about ten times her size, seemed undaunted by the apparent miss, and fired again. Aile managed to shoot out a bolt of plasma at the giant mechaniloid, throwing off it's aim, but inflicting relatively little damage.

**Aile, aim for the propellers.**

Holding the mechaniloid in the air were twin propellers on it's back/top. Aile jumped and fired her stored charge shot at the objects in question, deforming one and outright destroying the other. Now grounded, the mechaniloid could no longer use it's weapons, since they were located on it's underside. But Aile climbed onto the thing's back, located the fuel storage, and destroyed it anyways, jumping off to avoid the explosion.

"Ok, the first one was annoying, but _that_ one was a pain. X, anymore enemies ahead of us?"

**I can sense a few, but not many. It would seem that Giro took out the majority of them.**

"Good, then let's hurry and catch up to Giro."

* * *

"Hiyahh!"

Giro swung violently to the side, but Prometheus caught his sword in the crux of scythe blade and haft. He twisted the scythe in an attempt to disarm his opponent, but Giro held firm to his weapon, and the unyielding Z-Saber remained in the hand of it's wielder. Prometheus spun around and slashed with his scythe, but Giro jumped over the strike. Now airborne, Giro raised the sword over his head and brought it down with a tremendous overhead slash, but Prometheus rolled to one side, his scythe lashing out as he exited the roll. Giro managed to block in time, and they locked weapons, hydraulics and mechanical muscles straining as their owners pitted their strengths against each other.

Giro had a faint advantage: His sword offered a bit more leverage than Prometheus's scythe, since Prometheus had to hold the scythe near the base of the haft to avoid touching Giro's sword. If Giro could angle that scythe blade away, he might be able to disarm his opponent.

Unfortunately, Giro remembered Prometheus's companions too late.

An immense force slammed into Giro's back, sending him flying. He fell, and didn't get up. Prometheus rounded vengefully on his attacker. "Hey, He was mine!!"

The immense reploid lowered his hand. "I grew tired of watching, Prometheus. Besides, his significant other is approaching, and I have a plan to put into action."

Just as the tall reploid walked over to stand over Giro, Aile came into view.

* * *

Aile gasped at the scene. Giro was down, and standing over him were three reploids of some kind. "Giro!?"

One of the reploids, a tall reploid with purple hair, turned to look at her. "Ah, welcome. Model X, the blue Mega Man, I believe. I have been expecting you. However, I have become bored with waiting, and have arranged for some…entertainment. Let us see what you're capable of."

He held out his hand, which Aile noted held some object she couldn't really see, and lowered it over Giro. Giro almost immediately began shaking. "Aile…run… It's a trap…"

Eerie purple/white light began coiling around Giro, and seeping into him. "Aaargh!!"

Then, without warning, the three reploids vanished, leaving only Aile and Giro. Slowly, shakily, Giro stood.

"Giro, are you alright? What happened!?"

Giro raised his head, and Aile involuntarily took a step back. Visible on Giro's visor were two red circles, almost like piercing, evil eyes. He yelled, and his voice wasn't his own, even if the words were.

"Aile! Sh-shoot! _Shoot me_!"

"What!?"

**Aile, something's wrong. I can sense Model Z and Giro, but I also sense some unknown presence. Something must be controlling him!**

"W-wait! Can't I do anything!?"

**At this point, the only thing to do would be to obtain this unknown's undivided attention, so that Giro and Model Z can retake control. We'll have to fight him, Aile!**

"B-but, I don't want to fight him!"

**Giro and Model Z are fighting back, but they're losing, Aile! we need to cause enough of a distraction to get Giro to come to his senses, and the only way to… Aile, look out!!**

X gave her a mental 'shove', and Aile fell to the side as Giro, or whatever was controlling him, dashed forward and slashed at where she'd been. Aile rose to her feet, as the red eyes of Giro calmly watched her.

**Aile, if you don't fight back, you will die, and then Giro would lose whatever willpower that kept him from losing himself completely! You have to hold Giro off long enough for him to retake control! That's all you need to do!**

"…Alright. I'll hold him off..." Slowly, Aile raised the X-Buster and leveled it at her friend. "I'm sorry for this, Giro."

She fired.

* * *

AN: CLIFFHANGERRRRRRRRRRRRR Cough, cough scuse me. Sorry about cutting it off right here, but I figured this would be the best spot to, especially considering what I have coming up.


	8. A Legendary Battle

Okay, time for some serious notes here.

Technically, the last chapter was very different from what normally happens, but this particular chapter marks the first major deviation from the main storyline. It's mainly because of what I believe to be the nature of weapons such as Giro's Z-Saber, but it also has to do with my original plan to make this story the first of a series. As for what will happen, you'll have to wait and find out.

That's actually another major point. As I noted earlier, my middle name could possible be 'Detail', since I put as much detail and technical odds and ends into my story as possible. So if you encounter something that doesn't make sense now, or that doesn't make sense because of your knowledge of the Zx game, I ask that you be patient and wait. I will do my best to explain all the unknown elements in later chapters. If you feel I have forgotten something later on, though, let me know, and I'll try to fix it.

Also, the mysterious observing unknown has apparently earned the designation, "The Observer". Until I reveal him for what he truly is, that is his 'name'. Feel free to guess, but I won't say if anyone is right or not.

And finally, there is some debate as to whether or not Zx takes place 100 years or 200 years after Megaman Zero, which takes place in 22XX. In this story, it is 24XX, two centuries after the events of Megaman Zero.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Eight

A Legendary Battle

* * *

_Almost there, almost there, almost-_ The thought repeated itself through the observer's mind as he jumped, dashed, and essentially blazed through the area. He could feel the tension in the air; the subtle silence that told him, and only him, that history was repeating itself in some manner. He didn't know what exactly was happening, but there was a significant amount of bad things that had happened in the past, and he personally didn't want any of them repeated. So he moved as fast as his ancient body would carry him towards Area D, where the proverbial storm clouds were gathering on the horizon.

_Almost there, almost there, almost there…_

* * *

_Slowly, Aile raised the X-Buster and leveled it at her friend. "I'm sorry for this, Giro."_

_She fired._

Giro dodged the initial shot, and dashed at Aile, sword coming down in a vertical slash. Aile shot to the side, and began charging another shot. Giro chased after her, his immense sword pointed straight at her. She fired a charged shot at Giro's charging form. It hit full on, but to her surprise, the blast splashed against a white/purple barrier that appeared just around Giro's form, dealing no visible damage even though it stopped his charge.

**Aile, the unknown presence must be empowering Giro's personal shield. We'll have to drain it before we can deal any significant damage.**

Aile didn't really _want_ to deal any significant damage to Giro, but she didn't tell X that.

Giro suddenly slammed his sword blade into the ground, and a column of orange light shot up from the ground around him. The column faded, but another column shot up further out from him. The spreading attack was coming rapidly at her.

**Aile, dash forward NOW!**

She did so, and the third column leapt up scant millimeters behind her. She was inside the column, and Giro was still there in the center. "Come on, Giro! Fight it!" She screamed, launching another charged blast at him. It hit full on like the last one, but this time the impact sent him sprawling.

Giro leapt back up, however, and jumped high into the air. Recognizing the move from what she'd seen of him during the fight with the flying vessel in Area B, Aile dashed under him while he was airborne, and he brought the saber down with great force onto nothing. Aile hadn't had the time to fully charge another shot, but she fired what she had, and a medium-sized green plasma burst splashed against his back.

* * *

_There it is!_ The observer felt ecstatic as he spotted the massive structure that was Slither's head office. Effortlessly climbing the structure from the rear, he landed on the top, to gaze down at the events below.

What he saw shocked him.

_The two legends are fighting each other? I guess history does repeat itself in a fashion. After all, those two were destined to fight in the past. I guess they were destined to battle here too._

He couldn't intervene yet, so he settled in to watch. But if this battle played out like it had in 21XX, he already knew what would happen.

* * *

_If I can keep my distance, I might be able to win this…_

But she couldn't keep her distance very well. As she'd dodged his airborne strike, she'd spared a glance around and realized that the entire area was surrounded by mavericks. But they didn't attack her; they merely stood and prevented her from fleeing the area, essentially giving her very little room to maneuver. And every time she got enough room between herself and Giro in the limited space she had, he'd come charging towards her with insane speed, sword poised to strike.

And her instincts told her that she was as good as dead if that saber managed to hit her.

Giro spun to face her, but this time he slammed his sword against the ground, actually shattering the steel and concrete debris at his feet and sending the sharp fragments flying towards her.

**Aile, shield your eyes!**

Aile immediately dismissed the X-Buster and covered her face with both arms. The fragments slammed into her own shield, draining it significantly. Fortunately, the few shards that penetrated the shield were deflected by the X-Armor.

But Aile felt something was wrong, and X cursed as he realized he'd made a mistake.

* * *

_I remember this. And if memory serves…_

Giro shot metal fragments at Aile, and she protected her vulnerable face with her arms. But she also blocked her sight, and Giro moved in for the kill.

He recognized the move. He'd seen it before, a long time ago.

_…That was the only battle X ever truly lost against him…_

* * *

Aile moved her arms, and her eyes widened when she saw Giro rushing her, sword poised for a horizontal slash. But she remembered that she still had a stored charge shot.

Everything seemed to slow. It would all come down to this.

Aile brought her arm up in slow motion, the X-buster forming in a flash. Giro closed, and the sword started moving in her direction. The X-Buster rose. The sword fell.

Aile unconsciously removed the recoil buffers from the X-Buster, to fall away from the sword's blow, and it probably saved her life.

The X-Buster fired at virtually point blank range. Giro flew back and Aile fell backwards.

The Z-Saber, which had originally been aimed for her neck, cut across her forehead instead. The very tip of the plasma blade effortlessly cut through the X-Armor's helm, and just barely scraped across her forehead.

Aile screamed at the contact. It felt as though her head was splitting apart. For all she knew, it already had.

She fell to the ground, clutching her head through the ruined helm, knowing that it was over; that Giro would kill her now. So she curled up on the ground, and waited for it to end.

* * *

_I don't remember __that happening__._

The observer focused in on the two fallen shadows of the legends, noting that they both appeared to be alive, although the girl seemed to be hurt badly. Hopefully, she would live, but he couldn't really tell from that distance. But at least they were no longer fighting, at least at the moment.

_I guess I have to keep watching, and see what happens next._

* * *

Eventually, a few minutes later or so, Aile managed to fight her way out of the searing pain, and forced herself upright.

Giro was just stumbling upright as well, and she numbly realized that she had dealt severe damage with her close range shot.

Furthermore, she realized he seemed to be struggling with himself. Giro had to be fighting back.

She called the X-Buster, and leveled it at Giro, just in case. As she did, she realized that the sword had cut across the Buster as well, as it sported a large, jagged cut along its length. She hoped it wouldn't fail her if Giro lost control again. "C-come on Giro! Fight it! I know you're st-strong enough…" Blood started trickling into her eye from the wound on her forehead, and she blinked rapidly to keep it clear. She couldn't afford to move her hand. She needed it to hold the X-Buster up. Her strength was nearly gone…

Giro was clutching his head, and the evil red eyes on his visor were flashing as Giro fought for control.

"I-I know you can do it Giro! Come on!"

Finally, Giro gave out a yell that seemed to be his own, and the red eyes faded from his visor. Giro had retaken control.

"U-urgh…Aile…Aile! Are you alright!?"

Despite her injury and her exhaustion, Aile felt a sense of relief as she lowered the X-Buster. Giro was alright, even if she wasn't. Her body felt like rubber, she was so tired.

Giro started running towards her. Then, a massive purple lightning bolt hammered the hapless ex-Guardian, casting him to the ground. He didn't move.

"Giro!!"

Strength born of desperation filled her, and Aile ran up and knelt next to her friend. He didn't appear to be conscious.

"Model X, the blue Mega Man. Model Z, the red Mega Man. What disappointments. The Guardians have found nothing but useless refuse, it seems."

Aile looked up. Standing there were the three figures from earlier: The purple and grey armored male, the white, green, and yellow armored female, and the immensely tall figure from before.

Aile scrambled upright and leveled the X-Buster at them, praying that they didn't notice the damage to the weapon. "Who _are _you!?"

The tall reploid, who appeared to be the leader of sorts, held out his hand. Aile's eyes widened. In his hand was obviously a Biometal of some kind. He was a Chosen One!

"The name is Serpent. I am the ruler of all I see. I am the Model W Mega Man!"

Aile ignored the second and third sentences. Her brain had focused immediately on the first statement.

"_Serpent_!? You're the president of Slither Inc.!"

Serpent smirked. "It seems that my reputation precedes me. Not that that knowledge will help you, blue Mega Man!"

She didn't pay attention to the malice in his voice. "You're the one responsible for the mavericks and what happened to Giro!"

The girl suddenly spoke up. "You're shaking…is it anger…or fear?"

Aile realized she couldn't hold her arm steady. It was getting harder to maintain her focus. The Z-Saber's superheated edge had essentially cauterized the skin on her forehead, but exposure to the air and her recent movements had caused it to crack and split. She was losing blood that her brain required to function properly, and it was dulling her senses; deriving her of focus. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, but the numbness was still there. But there was anger in there as well, and she drew on it to give her a bit of focus. It worked, although maybe a bit too well.

"You're the one who protects everyone! How could you be behind it? _How could you do this_!?"

Aile started charging the X-Buster. She didn't care anymore. She felt X yelling at her to stop, but she ignored him. She was going to put a stop to this once and for all, even if it killed her.

Had she been listening to X, she would have heard him warn her that the X-Buster couldn't hold a high-level charge because of its damage.

Serpent noticed the energy building in her buster. "Prometheus, if you could."

The purple armored reploid, obviously Prometheus, stepped forward, hand resting on a weapon hilt of some kind. "I admire your courage girl, but what you're doing now is just plain recklessness."

"Quiet!!"

She fired, and the half powered shot lanced towards Serpent. Prometheus activated his weapon, a beam scythe, and swatted the attack back at her.

Fate and fortune were in her favor. Had the attack been at full power, it might have killed her.

As it was, the weakened attack tore through her nonexistent shields and hammered into her buster arm, spinning Aile like a top before she came to rest. She looked at the affected arm, and gasped as she noticed the damage to her weapon. The X-Buster was warped and deformed from the attack, and it would obviously be unable to fire another shot.

"No…"

Serpent crossed his hands behind him imperiously, and started pacing. "Beings who can control the M.E.G.A. System and transform with the power of the Biometals, such as you and I, are called Mega Men, or Chosen Ones. We are the chosen few with the power to shape the world to our liking. We are the shepherds who will guide the flock of the people into a new world. That is the reason we exist." He turned to Aile with a contemptuous look. "But you and your friend have proven with your pathetic skills that not all Mega Men are fit to rule."

He raised his hand, and power collected in his hand. Aile braced herself as best she could.

The same purple bolt of lightning that felled Giro struck her with immense force, sending her to the ground. But even though her body shuddered as the energy ripped through it, she realized with shock as Model X screamed in her mind that the blast hadn't been meant for her.

The X-Armor vanished, leaving Aile prone on the ground. Although she was conscious, she didn't move. She literally couldn't. The lightining bolt had shorted out the tiny power converter in her body, which supplied her cybernetics with energy to function. Her cybernetics were dead, and her entire body felt like it was several hundred pounds heavier.

Serpent shook his head. "How pitiful. Pandora, retrieve the passwords."

The white armored girl nodded, and dispatched her helmet's twin mobile cannon modules, which floated over Aile and Giro. Aile and Model X felt some data being copied and siphoned away, but they were two exhausted to resist.

Prometheus gazed coolly at them. "That was easy. What should we do with them?"

"Leave them to the mavericks, and carry on as you were. A battle between the evil Mavericks and the good Slither Inc. security force will be classic, and the people will celebrate the valiant defense force. These two will be casualties of the battle, and will be quickly forgotten. This façade will only have to endure for a little while longer. After all, soon they will all be sacrificed to Model W.

Aile was spent, but she managed to raise her head at that last statement. "W-what!?"

Pandora's mobile guns retreated back to their controller. "Passwords retrieved…"

"Excellent! Now that we have all the passwords, we can continue with Project Haven. Come along, you two. It's time we left these two to their fate."

Serpent disappeared, shortly followed by Pandora. Prometheus remained however, gazing at the fallen transporters. "…He said they were incapable of losing. Was he wrong? Or is there more to come?"

He gazed at Aile, who met his gaze. "If you manage to survive this ordeal, perhaps we'll meet again."

Then Prometheus vanished, and the mavericks began closing on the fallen Chosen.

* * *

AN: I figured that Aile, being essentially a rookie, couldn't possible take out Giro without sustaining some sort of injury, since he's practically an elite. And given that a beam saber is essentially a shaped blade of superheated plasma, it would sear and/or char any wound it delivers, especially against human skin. Lucky for Aile, Giro missed what he'd been aiming for originally. But how will this severe burn/wound affect the rest of the story?


	9. Ascension

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Nine

Ascension

* * *

"_If you manage to survive this ordeal, perhaps we'll meet again."_

_Then Prometheus vanished, and the mavericks began closing on the fallen Chosen._

Aile managed a look around. It wouldn't be long before the mavericks reached them. They weren't in any real hurry, not that they needed to be.

"X, we need to get out of here, but my cybernetics are dead. Can your armor support that if we merge again?"

**A-Aile, I don't think I can merge in my condition. I've taken too much damage for it to not be passed on to the armor, and I don't think I have the energy to support another merge anyway.**

X's voice was shaky, and Aile remembered that Serpent's attack had severely injured the Biometal.

"Then, I think we're done for, X. I…I can't move at all." And she really couldn't. Even if her cybernetics had cooperated, she was just so...so utterly exhausted that her body woundn't respond. As such, it was barely enough for her to move her head when she heard a voice nearby.

"N-never…give up…Aile. You…still have something you must protect…"

Aile gasped. "Giro! You're awake! Can you move? We need to get out of here!"

Giro issued a pained chuckle. "I wish I could, but I can't. Sorry."

"Well think, Giro! We need to find a way out of this!"

Giro, unfortunately, had a way out, but not the kind Aile would like. He'd known it for years; that something like this would happen.

_Model Z, it's time. I want you to lend your strength to Aile from now on._

**Do you realize what that means, Giro? Your body's reactor was disabled by Serpent's attack. Only my innate power is keeping you active. If you give me up, you will surely die.**

_I have never heard you tell an outright lie. I'm __already__ going to die, Z. You know what Aile's final buster shot did to me. Even if I got a new reactor, I'm dead anyways. But I intend to make sure Aile lives through this, even if I won't._

Model Z was silent.

_Don't forget about the promise I made, Model Z. You were there, after all._

* * *

-Area H, ten years ago-

"Sector Clear!"

Giro ran through the amusement park-turned-hellhole, cutting left and right with his sword at mavericks. Behind him, several dozen Guardian soldiers fired at the rogue mechaniloids.

Giro paused as he noticed several people lying on the ground. They were everywhere, but not one of them lived.

**We were too late…**

Giro looked around for any sign of survivors, and noticed something unusual. There was a blood trail along the ground, which led off towards the distant forest of Area A. Someone had been dragged along. Someone alive. Maybe...maybe they still were.

Giro shot after the trail, leaving the Guardians to finish securing the park.

Near the border between Area A and H (The park), Giro found the source of the trail. There was a woman lying on the ground, obviously dead. But kneeling next to her sobbing was a little girl, no more than seven or eight.

Giro unmerged with Model Z, and Z vanished. "Are you alright?"

She flinched at his voice, and spun to face him, green eyes wide in fear. But on seeing that he wasn't a maverick, she relaxed a bit. "…I-I'm…"

She turned back to the woman, who Giro saw had various similarities to the girl. She had to be the girl's mother. The girl must have dragged her to safety, and in doing so had probably saved her own life, even if she hadn't been able to save her mother.

Giro walked up and knelt next to her. "Are you alright?"

The girl looked at him, and slowly nodded. "Y-yes…but…but mom…She…She's…"

Without warning, she was suddenly crying into his shoulder, and all he could do was hold her.

* * *

Giro took the girl, who he learned was named Aile, back to Innerpeace. He'd rented a small apartment, and they stayed there for a while.

He had no idea why he hadn't taken her back to Guardian HQ, or why he hadn't just given her to someone else to take care of.

A part of him felt she needed looking after, and he guessed that since he found her, she was his responsibility. And a warship was no place for a young human girl, anyways.

In addition, she didn't seem to want to leave him. And deep down, he didn't want to leave her, either.

So he took care of her himself.

* * *

Prairie found him a few weeks later. Not that he'd gone to any length to hide from her, but he hadn't reported in after the battle in Area H, and she was bound to wonder why sooner or later.

He'd put Aile to bed an hour ago or so, and went to check on her. When he confirmed that she was sound asleep, he turned to go, only to come face-to-face with the young commander of the Guardians herself.

Giro gestured to Aile, made a motion to keep quiet, and headed for the door to the apartment, Prairie following behind him.

"So, this is where you've been." She said once he closed the door. "Where did you find her?"

"The border of Area A and Area H. She'd dragged her mother to safety, but her mother didn't make it. I… I couldn't just leave her there, so…"

**So he took her with him. She didn't want to leave him either, so he stayed with her.**

"I see…" Prairie paused. "And do you think you're up to the task? Raising her?"

Giro shrugged. "I don't really know. But then, I can't really know until I try. I'll give it a shot."

She smiled softly. "I guess I can't talk you out of it then. I'll have you put on indefinite leave. I want to be able to count on you if I need it. You have Model Z, after all."

"Fine, but only if you _really_ need help, Prairie. I don't think she has to know I'm with a group that hunts mavericks. Her mother was killed by mavericks, and the last thing she needs is a revenge complex."

Giro turned to reenter the apartment, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Giro…" He turned to look at Prairie. She had a sad expression. "I can't take Model Z from you, and you know it. But you know that someone besides us wants that Biometal for some reason. Someday, maybe tomorrow, maybe years from now, they will discover that you have it. When that day comes, you know what kind of choice you'll have to make."

If this unnamed enemy ever found out that he was the carrier of Biometal Model Z, they might use Aile against him to get it. If that happened…

Giro turned to face her one final time, so final that he wouldn't see her for about a decade. His face bore a determined expression.

He entered the apartment, but his final words rang in Prairie's ears. And in his own.

"If I have to choose between her life and my own… I will not choose my own."

* * *

**I remember that day very clearly, Giro. I haven't forgotten your promise either.**

_Right. And it is time to make good on it, Z. I want you to take care of Aile for me, okay?_

**…Alright. I will.**

Model Z turned to leave, but Giro stopped him with the mental equivalent of grabbing his shoulder.

_Z, I want you to promise me, no, swear to me that you'll do what you can to keep Aile safe. I want your word, the word of Model Z, which has never been broken._

Silence followed his statement.

**As long as Aile is under my care, I swear I shall never fail her.**

…_Thank you, my old friend._

**As one warrior to another, I shall never forget your courage, Giro. But you'd best say your last to Aile, before you forget.**

"Giro!?" Giro realized that Aile was practically yelling at him. The mavericks were uncomfortably close now, about 14 feet away.

"Aile… I want you to listen. I'm going to give you Model Z. I want you to use his power to get out of here safely, understood?"

"But Giro, what about y-"

"Don't worry about me, Aile. I want you to get out of this, okay?"

"B-but…"

"Model X, Model Z, I'm counting on you two to keep her safe, understood?"

He already had Z's answer. X said nothing, but Giro knew X wouldn't let her down, either.

"G-Giro!? Don't you even _think_ abou-"

"Aile, I once swore that I would give my life so that you could keep yours. The time has come to keep that promise. We are not both going to get out of this. If one of us has to live, it will be _you_, understand? I want no arguments, Aile. Either I die and you live, or we both die. I'm too damaged at this point to keep going, but you still have a chance, and I want you to take it.

Aile started to stammer out another argument, but Giro swiftly cut her off.

"Aile, I want you to promise me that you'll keep going, no matter what. Keep fighting, and finish what I started. Promise me that you won't let my death be for nothing. _Promise me that you won't ever give up_."

"…"

"…"

"…A-alright…I promise."

Giro smiled. "Good. I expect you to do your best, then. Don't let me, or Prairie, or anyone else down."

_Z, it's time._

**Very well…I won't fail you. Farewell, my friend.**

There was a flash, and Model Z appeared over Giro. Giro sparkled gently, and disappeared into nothingness.

"Giro! GIRO!!"

* * *

_What the!?_

The observer had been fully ready to ignore his own commitment of nonintervention and save the duo, but then Model Z's chosen had vanished. He could clearly hear the girl's anguished scream, even as high as he was.

_I see… Gods above, why can't things be any different then they were in the past? I've lost track of how many times he's died so that X could live. The only difference is that Giro won't come back from this…_

He noticed that the mavericks had stopped. Apparently, they were confused by the elder transporter's disappearance. It gave the girl valuable time.

_It's all up to you now, Aile. Can you do it? Can you keep going without him?_

* * *

**Aile, this is your chance! With Model Z's power, we might be able to merge again! But… I can't guarantee if your body will survive the strain of our combined power…**

The mavericks shook off their apparent surprise at Giro's departure, and closed around Aile. Their guns were leveled at her.

Aile was staring brokenly at where Giro had been, where Model Z was now. Model Z spoke.

**This is your choice Aile. You and you alone can make it. Do you have the will to fight? Do you have what it takes to continue where that brave man left off?**

"…"

Aile was silent. The Biometals were silent as well. The only sound was the mavericks charging their weapons to fire.

"…"

"…Yes."

The single word split the silence like a knife.

"Yes! I can keep going! I promised I would never give up, and I won't, ever!! Model X! Model Z! _Lend me your power_!!"

That was all they needed. They went to her without question.

The area was engulfed in light.

* * *

"Prairie! We've picked up a huge energy surge coming from Area D-2!"

"D-2? That's where Giro and Aile are supposed to be! Can you identify the source of the energy?"

"Hang on…" Gardenia blinked. "Uh, Prairie? You are not going to like this…"

Gardenia projected the data onto the main screen. Clearly visible were the energy signatures, and their corresponding matches: Models X and Z.

What drew Prairie's attention was the massive energy readout, but not because of the level of power.

It was because it was dropping at a phenomenal rate.

* * *

**X, something's wrong.**

They were pouring their power into Aile's body, but they could feel it…slipping out. As though she was a container, and there was a hole somewhere they couldn't see.

**X, is her head wound causing the problem?**

**No, but there is something wrong with it. But what, I can't be sure of.**

**Then, by all means, we have to check, X.**

The two Biometals drifted into Aile, examining the girl in an attempt to discover this unusual energy drain. After a moment, they found the problem.

Aile's heart had stopped beating.

X felt as though his own had stopped. **No... No, this can't be! **

Model Z had a faintly different reaction. **She can't be gone now! Not after I gave my word! No! I won't let this happen!**

They both felt something then. An unnatural feeling. As though something both great and terrible was about to occur.

**W-What the!?**

**What's happening!?**

They suddenly passed out. Or, at least, that's what it felt like to them.

The light surrounding Aile suddenly became a cylinder, then a column, then a beacon of sheer power lancing towards the heavens. And clearly visible somewhere in the stark white column of light were two colors: blue and red.

* * *

"M-Ma'am! The energy has just jumped exponentially! Wait, more than that! No, it's still increasing!"

"Prairie, two new energy signatures have appeared at X and Z's location. Their signatures are immense! Far greater than either Biometal!"

Prairie didn't listen. She saw the signatures on the screen. They were reploid in origin, which sent tremors through her. There were only a handful of reploids anywhere that could project anywhere near that level of power, and all of them were dead.

But she knew for a fact that there were a couple that only _might_ be dead. She personally knew one of them. But he couldn't be alive…could he?

* * *

"_**Looks like it's that time, X."**_

"_**Can we even save her?"**_

"_**Yes we can. You know full well how."**_

"_**But, she might not survive it. Hell, **__**we**__** might not survive it…"**_

"_**But if we do nothing, X, she absolutely will die. And you always wanted to blur the line between reploid and human, right? Here's a way of doing that literally. Well, from a certain point of view."**_

"_**You know, once Prairie and the rest find out, there will be hell to pay, right? Not to mention that once we do this, we may never be able to live again. Doesn't that bother you a bit?"**_

"_**And since when did you ever care about that, X? You were always the one who wanted a break from all the fighting. But you were always getting drawn into it anyway. Here's a way to get out of it permanently. As for me, I gave my word, which has never been broken. If this is what it takes to save her, then so be it."**_

**_"…"_**

"_**Besides, those blasted memory blocks will reinstate as soon as we wake up again, so who would know? It might take **__**years**__** for us to undo those blocks, and they won't know until we tell them. And I want to see the look on their faces when we do."**_

"_**You always were one to screw with the system, huh Zero? Guess that part of you hasn't changed."**_

"_**I guess not. Now come on X, let's save us a Chosen."**_

"_**Right."**_

The column gave way to an immense surge of energy, which roared outwards with such force that the nearby mavericks were completely annihilated by it. It slowly faded away to nothing, revealing a figure lying on the ground.

* * *

"Prairie, the energy signatures have vanished. Whatever they were, they're gone now."

Prairie realized that she'd been standing, and sat down gently. The signal had been a near perfect match. It _had_ to be him, and yet it couldn't. For starters, there were two reploid signatures, so who was his companion?

"Commander!" Marguerite called out. "The jamming is gone. It just up and vanished. Both the main ground force and the vanguard taskforce are asking for orders."

"Have the main force return to the main base, but have the vanguard advance into Area D-2. Tell them to find Giro and Aile."

* * *

"Hey, is that Giro?"

Maquereau looked over at where Moure pointed. Sure enough, there was a red-armored figure with a long blonde ponytail lying on the ground in front of Slither Inc.'s office, unmoving.

"Looks like it. Hey, Giro! You okay?"

Giro didn't move. "Hey, he looks like he might be hurt. Moure, get to the transerver up ahead and set it up. Tell Muguet and Rose to be ready for him."

Moure ran ahead. Maquereau ran up to Giro. "Wait a minute… Giro never had this kind of armor."

The red armored fighter coughed pitifully. Maquereau grabbed a shoulder and flipped the figure over.

"Aile!?"

Sure enough, it was Aile, but she was in really, _really_ bad shape, if the blood on her face was any indication. Her red armor, which had to bear some kind of relation to Model Z, was really banged up, but the lack of plasma burns and chipped metal went a long way towards showing the condition of the Biometal(s) that crafted it. All in all, it looked like she's been put through the wringer, and then put back in the other direction.

But then, at least she was alive.

"Bar! Get over here, Aile's injured! Help me get her to the transerver!"

Together, the two soldiers carried the girl to the transerver, while the rest of their force scoured the area for Giro.

* * *

_What did they do?_

That was the sole question running through the observer's mind as he watched the guardians carry her away. He'd watched as she transformed, but he'd felt the unusual energy as the two ancients unbound their memories and did…did…_something._ He didn't know what, but he knew in his heart that it was something both profound and important.

_X…Zero…I hope you didn't do anything you'll regret later._

* * *

AN: It should have been obvious before, but X and Zero are truly located in those Biometals, sealed behind powerful memory blocks. The circumstances were dire enough that they were temproarily reawakened to save their Chosen. The only question is _how _they saved her.


	10. Aftermath

I think my emphasis on detail is getting the better of me. In most of the other Zx fanfics, the battle with Giro was over and done with by about chapter 3 or 4. Now, I'm just finishing it up by chapter 10. But I must continue on, for I have a goal to reach.

Said goal is simple. I haven't scoured every inch of this site yet, but I have yet to find a Zx storyline that actually _finishes_ the storyline. My goal is to be the first, even if my storyline deviates from the original a bit. I will be... _The first to finish a Megaman Zx novelization!_ (pumps fist into air) Hopefully, I can reach this goal, since, like I said, it is to be the first of a great epic. But only time will tell.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Ten

Aftermath

* * *

The briefing room of Guardian HQ could easily seat a hundred people. Since there were about less than half that on the airship, the room was far from crowded, but the sheer noise of the conversation was deafening, even with some of the ship's crew missing. Many soldiers were in the med-bay following the battle, and the only absent non-injured personnel were Muguet and Rose, who were treating the injured, and Tulip, who was watching over the bridge.

Prairie entered the room unnoticed until she yelled for quiet, and the room fell silent.

"Yesterday, as most of you are aware, we encountered the worst maverick outbreak ever seen. Several hundred mavericks swarmed in from Areas D, E, and F, with the intention of entering the residential district of Area C. Our main force was forced to deal with the enemies from Area F trying to enter Area B, while a small vanguard deployed from this airship to hold off the enemies in Area D, backed by Aile and Giro. Slither's defense force dealt with the enemies coming from Area E."

"Maquereau, what are the figures for the vanguard?"

The soldier stood up. "Ma'am, we've managed to recover most of the downed soldiers from Area D-1. Out of the original 20 soldiers, and the 31 reinforcements that made it from the main force, only 9 were killed. We also have 15 critically wounded, and nearly half the remainder have minor injuries of some kind. I spoke with Muguet, and she says that none of the seriously wounded will perish from their wounds. All in all, we got off pretty light, Ma'am."

"Did any of your soldiers ever find Giro?"

"I'm sorry, but no. We haven't found him yet."

Prairie sighed. "I see. Thank you, Maquereau. Marguerite, you were observing the main force's progress, have you come up with an estimate yet?"

"Yes, commander. By my guess, and limited communications from the main base, we have 33 killed, 57 seriously wounded, and about 60 minor injuries out of the main force's 150. Much less then expected."

"That's good to hear." Prairie squared her shoulders, and faced the Guardians in front of her. "Yesterday, we were caught off guard. We did not anticipate that someone was maneuvering these mavericks around, and they took advantage of that. Maverick outbreaks have been diminishing recently, and we allowed ourselves to become careless. We got lucky that so few were injured, let alone killed."

"Starting tomorrow, we will be increasing patrols in Areas A, B, and D. We need to keep our eyes open, and prevent this from happening twice. Maquereau and Bar, you are in charge of setting up a schedule, so be sure to contact and coordinate these patrols with the main base. Have Silure help you with that. If anyone has any questions about who will be patrolling where, you know who to ask."

"That will be all. You are dismissed."

The soldiers and crew slowly filed out. As they did, Rose edged into the room and walked up to Prairie.

"Um, Prairie? Aile's awake. She wants to talk to you."

* * *

When Giro had been in the Guardians, he'd been as wild and troublesome as could be. So when he left, nobody had wanted his room, on the random belief that it might be booby trapped or something. There was no real influx of personnel, or needs for rooms, so the room went unoccupied for nearly a decade.

But the med-bay was short on space, and Muguet and Rose couldn't get an accurate scan of Aile through her armor, which didn't want to come off. After determining that she wasn't dying, they had some soldiers put her in Giro's room until she woke up.

The door hissed open, and Prairie stepped into the room. Giro had taken a fair amount of his belongings from the room when he left. The only things left in the room were a framed picture of the Guardians some 12 years or so ago, a small picture of Giro and a young Aile, a desk with a built-in computer, and a bed, which was currently occupied.

"Aile?"

Aile glanced up at Prairie. The girl was clad in familiar red armor, but it wasn't anything like Giro's armor, which was primarily designed for mobility. Aile's new armor was slightly less bulky than the X-Armor and was predominantly red and white, with a massive, vaguely arrowhead-shaped helmet gem that covered the entire top of the helm. The helm itself featured simple spike-like extensions on either side, jutting towards the back almost like fins. The armor looked so familiar, it hurt to look at it.

_She looks just like Zero did…_

"Aile, are you feeling better? You've been out of it since yesterday."

"I've been better, but I'm okay. X and Z are still unconscious though."

"I see…" That confirmed Prairie's suspicions that the armor incorporated Model Z. "Aile, what happened out there? After you and Giro entered Area D-2, someone jammed our communications. We have no idea what happened during that time. Tell me what happened."

Aile proceeded to tell her the entire story, from rushing into Area D, the fight with Giro (Although she left out the wound he gave her), Serpent and Model W, and finally, Giro's death and the double merge with Models X and Z, most of which she didn't remember.

"…So, Giro's gone…"

Aile glanced away, tears threatening to form in her eyes. "I promised him that I'd never give up. I can't mourn him now, not with everyone's lives at stake."

"Alright… I understand. In that case, you should probably know what you're up against."

Prairie sat down on the bed next to her.

"I managed to get some data about this Model W Serpent has. It can corrupt and take over reploids and even humans if left in their proximity long enough. It's probably the cause of all the maverick outbreaks recently. Fortunately for us, Serpent only has a fragment. The core of Model W is located somewhere deep underground. I'm not sure exactly where, but I do know that it's sealed behind a very powerful barrier, which can only be unlocked with the passwords encoded within the Biometals. I managed to get X and Z first, but if Serpent said he had the other passwords, that means he must have the other four Biometals. Serpent will most likely seal the barrier behind him, Aile. If we're going to stop him, we'll need to recover the other Biometals."

"Alright, if you can find where, I'll get them back!"

Prairie glanced at her. "Aile, are you sure you're up to it? I mean, you did just wake up following a very traumatic event. I don't want to put you back on the battlefield if you're not up to it."

Aile looked down and held an armored hand in front of her, as though contemplating her own weakness. "Prairie, I'm not hurt badly enough that I can't go back out there. And every minute I sit here and wait, I keep thinking that I'm failing Giro's last request by doing nothing. I need to know that I can do what I promised I would, and getting the Biometals back as soon as possible would help."

The hand dropped, and Aile shot her a somewhat mournful glance. "Prairie, please… I need to do this. For Giro's sake."

"…Okay. But this time, at least let me know before you charge off on your own. Promise?"

Aile smiled faintly. "Promise."

"Good." Prairie stood up. "Aile, I've got some data to run simulations on. I'll get you something to do as soon as I can. Until then, get some rest. You could use it."

She left the room, the door hissing shut gently behind her. Aile's eyes lingered on the door for a moment.

**I notice you failed to mention your injury Aile.**

She jerked at the voice. "Model Z!? I thought you were still unconscious!"

**So did I, actually. But then, Z is pretty resilient.**

"You too, X? When did you guys wake up!?"

There was a flash as the Biometals unmerged. Model Z turned to look at her.

**Somewhere around your mentioning that you weren't badly hurt, Aile. I'd hardly call that monstrosity on your forehead a minor wound. Not to mention that you very nearly died.**

Aile gently rubbed the cut Giro had given her. It didn't hurt, but it did feel very numb. Prairie hadn't noticed it while she'd been wearing her armor, since the wound was underneath the helm. "I don't want her to worry. And whatever you guy did when we all merged saved me, so I'm really not badly hurt. I won't hide this injury forever, just until this is over and done with."

She paused. "Speaking of, how did that happen anyways? I though you guys said we couldn't merge with anyone other than our biomatch. I assumed that Model Z would give X enough power to merge with me again. How did we all merge at the same time?"

**Hmmm…** X mused for a second. **Well, as far as we know, it isn't possible to merge with anyone else. But, I have a theory that might explain it.**

"Go ahead X. It's not as if I have any answers."

**Well, it is completely impossible to merge solely with a Biometal that is not a biomatch. However, you merged with both Model Z and myself, your partner. I believe that it is possible to merge with multiple Biometals, so long as I am used as a 'buffer' of sorts.**

"So, in theory, I can link up with all six of you guys at once, right?"

Model Z chuckled. **Only if you can take it, Aile. X mentioned that your body might not be able to survive the strain of combining our power earlier. That's because each additional Biometal exponentially increases the level of energy your body is required to handle, and the human body can only take so much. Plus, not all of us are compatible with each other. Likes and dislikes, weapons and elements, that sort of thing. But all of us like X, and X is capable of adapting to anything, so you should at least be able to merge with each of them in unison with X. At least, in theory.**

"Sounds like I'll have something to look forward to then." Now devoid of the Zx-Armor, Aile could rest comfortably, so she crawled into the bed. "I'm going to take Prairie's advice, and get some rest. Wake me in a few hours or so, okay?"

Z snorted. **And do what in the meantime? We can't exactly play cards, you know.**

"…"

The two Biometals realized she was already asleep. X issued a sigh.

**I guess we'll just have to improvise, Z. Come on, let's let her rest.**

The two floated off through the wall, utterly scaring the living daylights out of the guardian soldier on the other side.

* * *

Having been informed of Giro's unfortunate demise, the Guardians searching for him in front of Slither's head office turned and left. So nobody was there when two familiar figures appeared in front of the building. One of them was listening to his comm.

"So, the girl survived? Unexpected. And I suppose the Guardians will know our plan as well now. This will make things... difficult."

Prometheus sighed. "You know, it's your own fault Serpent. They never die unless you kill them yourself. Hell, even _I_ know that."

"Be quiet. I want you and Pandora to plan an attack on the Guardian bases, both the mobile one and the fixed one. Wait until the girl is gone first from the mobile one, though."

"Scared she'll mess up your plans?"

"If the sensors in front of my office are correct, she now carries both Biometals. And the energy she emitted when she used both of them cannot be denied. Especially since it burned those sensors out. Take your time; plan an assault that will destroy that airship, completely and utterly. Then destroy the fixed base. Remove the Guardians from the picture."

Prometheus frowned. "You think that'll stop her from coming after you?"

"I have looked into her past. Her mother was killed in a maverick attack, and the red Mega Man was her foster father until yesterday, when he gave his life so she could keep hers. She falls into depressions easily, and she must be in a terrible state following his death, but those Guardians will try to comfort her, and may break her out of it. Destroy all she cares about, and she will be so broken she will _beg_ for death, which will be provided. I will not tolerate interference, Prometheus. Destroy her support, her balance, and then destroy her."

"Yea, yea, fine. That'll take lots of time though, but we're on it. Prometheus out."

There was a faint beep as Prometheus turned the communicator off. "Pandora, you get all that?"

"Yes... I did. So did he."

There was a faint, familiar chuckle from the shadows nearby. "So you noticed me? I must be losing my touch."

Prometheus glared at the shadowed figure. "What game are you playing at? You told me that those two couldn't be bested."

"I underestimated Serpent. I failed to acknowlege his ability to control others, and I forgot that only X could ever defeat Z, and vice versa. I'm not all-knowing, although I wish I was. It would have made my life much, much easier. I admit that I was fully prepared to intervene on their behalf, if Giro hadn't sacrificed himself to give Aile Model Z."

"And what makes you think...that she will fare any better...than him?"

"You two are older than anyone else thinks, but you aren't nearly old enough to remember those two in action together. Both of those kids were forces to be reckoned with when they bore their individual Biometals. Now that Aile has both Biometals, and the will to use them, she is virtually unstoppable. And Serpent underestimates her resolve. She won't break just because of this."

Prometheus scoffed. "And you expect us to believe that when your last foresight was so inaccurate?"

The figure turned to leave. "Shadow her. Observe her in battle. You saw how she fought against Giro; with tears in her eyes and hesitation in her heart. Now, she will fight with a purpose, and this time she will not hesitate to deal death to her foes. Let her return to fight you when you assault the airship, and see for yourselves the strength of her resolve."

He walked away into the darkness, leaving Prometheus and Pandora pondering his words.

* * *

AN: I know it's a bit of a filler following the Giro battle, but I felt it was necessary. It's also a bit of a setup for the inevitable attack on Guardian HQ, although that won't happen for a while.


	11. Power plant disruption 101

This chapter might seem a bit thrown together, and there's a couple good reasons for it. Halfway through writing this, I got a couple of bright ideas, and decided to wedge them into my original chapter. Plus, I decided that it was about time I updated, since it would make me a raging hypocrite to declare my intention to finish this story... and then make you wait too long for the next update. Sorry about that, I've been sort of busy as well.

And while I'm on the subject, thanks a bunch for the support.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Eleven

Power plant disruption 101**

* * *

**

"Prairie, didn't you say this plant was inactive?"

Aile glanced around her. The power plant that made up a vast majority of Area E had supposedly been offline ever since a maverick raid some years ago. Yet the building was bathed in light, and the various converters and transformers around her were humming cheerily as power flowed through them.

"Looks pretty active to me."

"Well, according to the data, Slither owns this plant. Maybe this activity has something to do with the 'Project Haven' Serpent mentioned. In addition, I'm detecting a signature similar to the other Biometals, most likely one of the missing four. Investigate the plant and recover the Biometal. I have to make a call, so I'll talk to you later, Aile. If you need anything, call the operators, and they'll help however they can if I'm not back yet. Prairie out."

It was only two days after the battle in Area D, yet Aile felt better than ever. Maybe it was because she was channeling the energy from the two Biometals or something. X was still too damaged to activate the X-Armor, so she was forced to use the new Zx-Armor. Her armament now consisted of a buster pistol, which collapsed into a cylinder and doubled as a powerful blue-green beam saber. Hers had an arrowhead-shaped blade, unlike Giro's, which had been more like an emerald-green katana. Aile wasn't used to the sword, so she stuck with the buster pistol until Z got around to teaching her. And the buster pistol, while powerful, lacked the stored charge ability of the X-Buster. Getting used to switching between them on the go was going to be a pain.

At the moment, Z and X were having a heated discussion, which she ignored until Z spoke to her directly.

**Um, Aile? Do you recall what happened to your cybernetics generator?**

"You mean my power converter? It got knocked out during the Area D battle. I assume it restarted with the energy you two gave off."

**That's what we're trying to figure out Aile. That converter was about as damaged as I was, and you felt that. Furthermore, neither Z nor I can recall if either of us fixed it. We fell unconscious after your heart stopped, and when we regained consciousness, you were completely fine.**

"Well, why don't you just che-…wait a minute, my heart stopped?"

**Yes. We very nearly lost you Aile. I don't know how we saved you. According to my logs, X and I unlocked several of our memory blocks when that happened, only the event itself seems to have been erased, or locked as well. The blocks were reestablished before we woke up.**

X gave the impression of nodding sagely. **Correct. However, whatever we did, it saved your life Aile. And since our memory blocks seem to be eroding, we should find out what we did sooner or later. In the meantime, we should accept our good graces, whatever they may be, and press forward.**

"Fine with me. In the meantime, can you teach me how to use a sword, Model Z?"

**It would be my pleasure. First, let me teach you my most basic, but favorite technique, the triple slash…**

* * *

"Tulip the bridge is yours. I won't be long, hopefully. Give me a patch to the main base, and relay it to my personal comm."

Prairie headed into her room, which was right off the bridge, and sat down at the small, decorative desk. A face appeared on her screen. "Yes ma'am?"

"I need to speak with the sub commander. Patch him through, please."

The man nodded, and the screen faded for a moment. Then, it resolved into a grizzled, somewhat scarred, _familiar_ face. "Hello, Commander Prairie. What can I do for you today?"

"Are you somewhere private, sub commander?"

"Uh, hang on…" The screen cut out for a couple seconds, then resolved again. "This must be serious if you're calling me directly, Prairie."

"It is serious, Colbor. Very serious."

"Oh, _that _kind of serious. Alright then…Alouette. What's the situation?"

"I've got an energy signature from Aile's position following the Area D battle. I've checked it seven times, all with the exact same result. Colbor…it's _him_."

He replied with a startled gasp. "Ally, we both know he's _dead_. Even Miss Ciel admitted it, however much it broke her heart. Zero can't still be alive, and if he had, he wouldn't have stayed hidden for two centuries!"

"There is no denying this signature, Colbor. Either he's somehow been reincarnated in Model Z, which is unlikely, or…or he's still alive, which is just as unlikely, if not more so. You and I are the only ones left from those times, we both know what that means."

He smirked. "Yea, it means he's been kicking ass and taking names for 200 years, and none of us even noticed. Zero was never one to sit anything out; he always liked to be at the center of the battle. But then, stealth was never his forte either, or so we thought. If he's been stealthy this long, he's got to be very good at it. We're talking in terms of Phantom, practically. If you want me to find him, I don't think I can just magically spot him at random."

"Again, it might be him inside Model Z, but I just want to make sure. Have your patrols be on the lookout for any unusual activity. Maverick cells vanishing, cloaked heroes, that sort of thing. You hear anything out of the ordinary, you check on it. If Zero is alive, I want you to find him, Colbor."

"You got it, Alouette. I'll do the best I can."

"I know you will. That's what you do. Good hunting, Colbor. Prairie out."

* * *

"HIYAAHH!!"

Aile issued a triumphant howl as she turned two galleon hunters into four half-galleon hunters, courtesy of the Zx-Saber. She spun around, and planted the point of the blade in the third hunter's head module.

**Okay Z, now she's scaring me. I knew she was a fast learner, but this is ridiculous. You've taught her the ways of the sword in, what, fifteen minutes? Ten? **

Z laughed. **'The ways of the sword'? Don't make me laugh X, these are rudimentary basics at best. Unfortunately, my best techniques are inaccessible, but I know that they're there. Once I find and unlock them, **_**then**_** she'll be a force to be reckoned with. Until she masters the mid-level skills and learns my hidden techs, she's nothing more than an amateur, albeit a good one.**

"At the moment, I can live with it." Aile remarked as she relieved an annoying mechaniloid rat of it's legs, shortly followed by it's head.

**Question: If your techs are hidden, how do you know you have them?**

**A simple question desires a simple answer: search for it, X. If you don't have a particular function, it won't turn up in a general search. Look for something hidden behind memory blocks, and it prompts you for a password, like all of them do. I got about 18 different password requests just by searching the broad term, 'techniques'. Giro guessed that I had them, which is why I searched for them.**

**Well, lucky you. I can't tell what mine are, so I have to wait until Aile discovers them on her own.**

Model Z was about to make a comment, but a whistle from Aile got their attention. "Um, guys? A hand please?"

They noticed the large modified Crushpactor. Or, more specifically, they noticed the beam cannon built onto it charging.

**Aile, get on the wall, quick!**

Aile dashed for the wall behind her and wall-climbed as far up as she could, the unique magnetic servos built into her boots keeping her in contact with the wall. Which was good for her, since the laser cannon fired and missed her completely. However, it left the wall itself intact.

The galleon hunter driving the behemoth noticed her on the wall, and raised the machine's massive rock crusher. Then, it charged at her, intent on smashing her between it's unstoppable force, and the immovable wall behind her.

The massive spiked rotor that served as a rock crusher slammed into and bounced off the wall, but Aile had already dropped off the wall, and plugged as many plasma bullets into the laser cannon as she could before the spiked rotor dropped to block her fire.

**Aile the cannon is warping from your attack. However, it will take several more salvos to destroy the cannon, let alone the thing behind it. Try to determine a pattern, and take advantage of it.**

Model X's advice was very useful. The galleon hunter operating the massive machine was no strategist, and fell easily into a pattern that Aile could exploit. Her only real worry was that the rotor hit the wall with enough force to knock her off of it if she mistimed her jumps, but fortune favored her that moment, for she never fell from the wall.

Two minutes later, the cannon was ruined. A few charged shots later, and the thing was history.

* * *

"Sis, where are you? And why didn't you let me know you were taking off?"

The white-armored girl slapped her oblong helmet lightly. "Please be quiet…I'm following Model X's chosen…to determine her capabilities…and you do tend to stand out…Prometheus."

"Oh, I see. Well, the snake's been wondering where you went Pandora, and if you just up and vanish like this repeatedly, he might get suspicious."

"Tell him I'm determining when and why the girl is away from the airship…and when the best time to strike would be. That should deter his… suspicions."

"Makes sense, I guess. But you should let him know in the future, we can't risk him getting too suspicious."

"I understand… now please be quiet… she is approaching the plant's central area."

* * *

As Aile entered the room, she noticed something very distinctive. There were hundreds of tubes scattered across the area. Each one had some kind of bright light in it, but they were moving slowly through the tubes.

"What are these things?"

**Cyber elves. Lots of cyber elves.**

"What are cyber elves, Z?"

**Sentient programs and data made in the form of elves. They are typically created when a human or reploid who has encountered cyber-space passes on, but sometimes they can be artificially created. Their data develops a sentience of it's own, and lives on in cyber-space. However, they are very rare. Why are there so many of them here?**

Aile looked closely at the lights. Most of them were just balls of light and energy, but a few did indeed resemble small fairies. Most didn't notice her, but one of them, a little red-haired one, looked at her with a mix of shock and sorrow. Aile blinked: That elf seemed familiar somehow…

"Does this helmet have a camera or anything?"

**Hold on, let me check…** X ran a quick search. **Yes it does.**

"Turn it on, and link it to the comm."

Aile activated the comm. "Aile here. Is Prairie there yet?"

"I'm here, Aile. What is it?"

"I'm sending you some video feed. You might want to look at this."

There was a second or two of silence. "Aile, those are cyber elves!"

"I can see that. Can you determine what they're doing here?"

"The plant's primary reactor is offline, yet it's still got power. Serpent must be using the cyber elves to generate power! Aile, those are sentient beings! You have to do something about this!"

That explained the elf's sorrowful look. "Prairie, how's the best way to stop this plant from functioning?"

"Um, destroy the energy sources. Why?"

Aile raised an armored fist, and unceremoniously smashed the tube. An alarm started going off, but she ignored it. She destroyed all the tubes in sight, and the cyber elves shot out in droves, cheering. A couple galleon hunters and mechaniloids tried to stop her, but she destroyed them in the process.

A couple minutes later, and all the tubes were destroyed. The power generator, now devoid of anything to power it, lost momentum and stopped. The alarm ceased, and the power plant shut down. But the room was very well lit, as several hundred tiny balls of light now filled it.

The small red-haired fae, who sported a red cross on her tiny hat, soared over to Aile. "_Thank you so much! That's twice now you've saved me!_"

"Huh?" Before Aile could ask what she meant, the Zx-Armor disengaged. Model Z appeared, and floated over to the tiny fae. **I feel that…you know me, little one. Have we met?**

"_Wha? You don't remember me!?_" The little fairy bobbed up and down. "_It's Nuppie, remember? Don't tell me you forgot me already, it's only been two centuries or so!_"

**Two centu… Little one, my memories have been sealed. If I was around back then, I'm afraid I don't remember it… I'm sorry.** Z gave the impression of looking sheepish.

"_Aww, it's okay. I'm sure you'll remember me sooner or later! In the meantime, can you help us get out of here? I'm terrible with directions._"

Aile smiled. "I'd be happy to, Nuppie. My name is Aile."

"_Pleased to meetcha, Aile!_" She spun around and yelled at all the other cyber elves. "_Listen up, everyone! Miss Aile here is going to guide us out of here! Stay close, and we'll make it safely!_"

The cyber elves all yelled a collective affirmative, and clustered around Aile, murmuring their thanks.

**And now we're babysitting cyber elves. Goodie. Nuppie, do try to keep them in line, okay?**

"_You got it, Master X! I'm glad to see you're all better now, after that Elpizo guy went and-_"

**I'm afraid I have the same condition Model Z does, Nuppie. Please refrain from mentioning those times, as it would be better if Z and I remember on our own.**

"_Okay… I guess I have to call him Z now, huh? You two better recover your memories soon._"

Aile re-engaged the Zx-Armor, earning a bunch of ohhs and ahhs from her new entourage, and pressed on.

* * *

Prairie sat back in her chair, her mind busy behind her eyes.

(Nuppie? I remember her. Zero saved her right after Sis first found him. She certainly seems to remember him. Maybe Zero _is_ inside Model Z.)

(I should speak to Nuppie when Aile brings her back. Hopefully, she'll remember me.)

* * *

"And, we're out."

As they exited the power plant, the cyber elves cheered, and floated ahead rapidly. Nuppie shot after them, yelling at them to wait up for Aile.

"Hmm, escapees?"

The cyber elves stopped dead, then flew back as a figure leapt down in front of them. "I don't know how you little things got out, but you're going right back in. Lord Serpent will be displeased if this factory is shut down."

The reploid resembled a human in shape, although the arms sported large, sharp wings. He glared at the elves, who were quivering. "Now now, don't act so surprised. You should have known that you can't escape this place. Not while I, Hivolt the Raptoroid, oversee this place. Now, back to the power generator with you."

"HEY!"

The elves scattered, and took refuge behind Aile, who leveled the Zx-Buster at Hivolt. "You leave them alone."

"Ah, so you must be the little chosen I've heard so much about." Hivolt leered at her. "You don't look like much of a threat. Perhaps Serpent overestimated you."

"You're awfully chatty for a maverick."

Hivolt slashed with his wing, which made a faint whistling noise as it sliced through the air.

"Do not mistake me with that common trash. I am an artificial Mega Man designed to bring out the potential of the Biometal: A Pseudoroid!"

Aile glared at him. "So you're the source of the Biometal signature. I suggest you hand it over."

"Now why would I do that? You have given me no reason to simply give up this amazing power. Besides, I have my orders." He floated up into the air. "If you wish to claim the power of Model H, you must defeat me."

"Nuppie, keep them back." Aile muttered as she stepped forward. The cyber elves hovered fearfully on the sidelines as Aile approached a small divot that was apparently the designated battleground. Aile aimed the Zx-Buster at the raptoroid.

"Let's go."

Aile released a torrent of plasma at the pseudoroid, but he evaded her fire with practiced ease by shooting under it. Landing, Hivolt dashed right for her, sharp wings poised to slash her to bits.

**Jump?**

Aile used her armor's enhanced strength to leap over the attack, and fired a trio of plasma bullets at Hivolt's back. They did little damage, but they made him take to the air again.

"You're fast for a human."

Rather than reply, she charged up another attack, and fired it at him. Again, he dodged beneath it, but this time, Aile anticipated him. As Hivolt made to land, she dashed at him, Zx-Saber coming down in a vertical slash. Hivolt blocked with the razor sharp edge of his wing.

At that point, something odd happened. Hivolt's wing flashed brilliantly, Aile flew backwards, and there was a mental scream, almost like when Serpent had attacked her and damaged X.

**The wings… Aile, Model H must be contained in Hivolt's wings!**

"Okay, is that good or bad?"

**Well, as far as I can tell, pseudoroids do not have a standard power cell. Hivolt must be drawing his power from Model H, which is spread through his wings. If you destroy or remove the wings, you will likely shut Hivolt down, but you will also risk the chance of damaging Model H in the process. However, if you do enough damage to Hivolt without damaging the wings, he will be unable to contain Model H's power, and will most likely release Model H to save himself. It's up to you to decide how to beat him.**

"Alright then… I think I have a plan."

Aile's plan required him to land again, so she had to wait. Hivolt disengaged his legs, which bent and floated beneath him like talons. They aimed and fired laser bolts at Aile. Fortunately, Aile managed to jump between them.

"Arrgh, hold still, human!" Hivolt floated up over the battlefield, and started blasting the entire area with lasers. Aile mentally focused her shield upwards as she dodged, and while she took some hits, the reinforced shield managed to deflect the worst of it.

**Not bad, Aile. You're getting better at this.**

"That's it! Take this!" Hivolt suddenly shot upwards, and dove straight at her, wings poised to strike.

Model Z jerked. **I recognize that attack! Aile, jump backwards now!**

Aile did so, and the wings cut an x-shape into the ground, while missing the young chosen entirely.

Aile responded in kind with a fully charged Zx-Buster shot, which sent the pseudoroid flying.

"You little… That's it! I'll tear you apart!" Hivolt landed and charged at her once again.

Rather than dodge at first, Aile dashed right at him, Zx-Saber at the ready.

At the last second, just as Hivolt lashed forward with both his wings, Aile jumped right and slashed straight down to her left.

Another brilliant flash answered her attack. Aile fell to her right, Hivolt fell backwards, and his _wings_ fell forwards, now separate from his body.

"Hah…so you're stronger than you look…" Hivolt, now devoid of his power source, was losing energy rapidly. "But don't celebrate just because you've beaten me. The energy we've produced here is already well on its way to Lord Serpent. All that's left is for him to hack into the Model W Core. You can't possibly stop him now. Hahahaha!" With a flash, Hivolt retreated.

His wings, however, exploded violently. When the smoke cleared, a floating piece of metal was visible.

Aile stepped forward. "You must be the Biometal Hivolt was using."

**Yes. I am the Biometal of the Wind, Model H. Thank you for saving me, young hero.**

"Model H, I need your help. I need to stop Serpent from reviving Model W."

**And that's it? Are you really that naïve?**

"What?"

Model H turned from her and floated a short distance, as if he was pacing. **This entire situation…Serpent, Model W, this 'Project Haven'… all of it was started by a single man. Even if you defeat Serpent and destroy the core of Model W, what will stop another madman, another Serpent, from rising up and taking his place?**

"I…I don't know."

**The promise of peace is an empty one. Humans are naturally chaotic. For every human with a good heart, there is one with a fell one. The same might be said of reploids. I and my comrades will watch history repeat itself time and time again long after you are gone. Give me one good reason why I should aid you with this endeavor, knowing full well that your effort will amount to nothing in the future.**

Aile stared at the ground. She didn't have an answer. X and Z were silent, but she felt that was because they didn't have an answer either.

"_You…you…HYPOCRITE!!_"

Aile turned to look. The little cyber elf Nuppie had flown over. She clenched her tiny fist right in front of Model H's 'face'.

"_Just because you know it's going to happen again doesn't mean you can't stop what's happening now! Zer-… Z knew full well that he would have to fight time and time again, and he didn't complain one bit! And when it eventually cost him his life, he faced it without regrets, taking down a madman in the process. A madman just like the one Aile is trying to defeat now! Would you deny her the power to save the lives of others!? Would you go against your oath, an oath that you probably don't remember but made nonetheless, to protect all human life!?_"

If the Biometals had actual eyes, they would have probably been staring at Nuppie. Aile certainly was, and she suspected that the many cyber elves behind her were staring too. Aile realized that the cyber elf had just given her her answer.

"She…She's right. I may not be able to stop this pointless battle forever, but there are good people here and now that will suffer if I let Serpent have his way. I don't care what the future holds! I _will _stop him, no matter what!"

Model X spoke up. **Little Nuppie makes a good point, Model H. I cannot remember much of my past, but I do remember an oath to protect all innocent beings against those that would threaten them. Regardless of whether or not these events will repeat themselves, we are sworn to fight to defend these people, regardless of the cost. As Aile said, we care not what the future holds. We are sworn to fight in the here and now.**

Model H looked around in silence. Finally, he looked at Aile.

**I have not forgotten my vow, Master X, nor will I fail it. But I did wish to test the resolve of the one I would lend my strength to. I admit, I misjudged you, young one. And while you may be a bit indecisive, I can see that there are those around you who can vouch for your resolve. I apologize for deceiving you.**

Model H's voice seemed to lose some of it's edge as he spoke. **I did not say it then, but I believe…that our battles long ago had meaning. And you are absolutely right young one: The future is irrelevant. So yes… yes, I shall lend you my power. And I shall never question the senselessness of our battles ever again. However, I will need the other half of my power, which resides in another pseudoroid.**

Model H floated over to Aile, and she felt a sense of relief. He was just testing her, and she had passed with the help of Nuppie and X. Maybe she had a chance to do this after all.

**Maybe he'll become less of a tightwad if he hangs out with us for a while.**

X sighed as H and Z started arguing while the cyber elves laughed and cheered them on.

**Some things never change.**

* * *

AN: And a couple characters from the Zero era make their appearance. I realized that the cyber elves in Area E were just floating in little tubes everywhere, so why not break them out of them? And Nuppie is one of the first cyber elves you get in MMZ1, so it stands to reason that she would recognize Zero (And since Zero is so badass, he should be able to get by without the need to use any cyber elf, minus maybe Croire from MMZ4). As for Colbor, the guy has a knack for survival, even in the Zero era. It's implied that Prairie is Alouette from MMZ, so I figure that if Alouette/Prairie could survive this long, then Colbor should be able to as well.


	12. Cold Reception

This is my longest chapter yet, I noticed. About 7000 words long. Summer classes and my summer job have unfortunately begun, so my updating ability will be limited. However, I will do my best to keep the time between updates to a minimum, so don't count me out of the running to finish this story just yet.

And just FYI, The cyber elf names I have listed in the story are taken from MMZ1 and MMZ3.

As an added bonus, you get my take on how the elemental system works. Enjoy the chapter.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Twelve

Cold Reception

* * *

Turns out that Nuppie hadn't forgotten her. Aile had taken off somewhere when she'd been told she could go and rest, while the cyber elves were guided to Prairie's room. And the second the 60 or so elves entered, at least 8 detached themselves from the rest and, for lack of a better word, tackled the poor commander, all yelling, "_Alouette!!_"

Prairie was so happy to see so many old faces, she didn't immediately register the fact that they only remembered her as Alouette. "Wow! So many of you are still alive!?"

She didn't remember all eight of them, but she did recognize at least three, not counting Nuppie herself, who had somewhat established herself as the leader.

"_The resistance let us all go free after __Ragnarok__ was destroyed, and most of us stuck together._" A small hacker-type elf she recalled as Ilethas informed her. "_Some of us were captured and placed in the power plant that Miss Aile broke us out of. The rest are hiding out somewhere. We'll have to find them eventually._"

"Well, I'm glad that most of you are safe." Prairie frowned. "But I really don't want to risk you getting captured again. Can I ask you to stay here at Guardian HQ? It's probably safer if you hide out here, and I can try to get some teams together to find your friends."

"_Why? We should be out helping your soldiers, or Aile._"

Nuppie glared at the cyber elf that spoke. "_How __exactly could we help them? Most of us can't use our powers without dying, which Alouette won't allow, and I won't either for that matter. As for Aile, she's human, and there's only one or two of us that are compatible with humans. Besides, she's got both Zero and Master X looking after her; I highly doubt she needs any other help._"

Prairie blinked. "Nuppie, since when did you become a leader?"

The fae flashed her a smirk. "_Hanging out with Zero for a year or so does that to ya. Not to mention that __someone__ had to take charge of these guys._"

"Well, when you put it _that_ way…"

* * *

**Okay, ready?**

Aile carefully looked over the edge of the small cliff. "Sure, why not."

**Alright, jump.**

It had taken Aile a few short moments to figure out how to merge with Model H in unison with Model X. Now, she was in the forest of Area A, testing the new boosters and twin beam rondels (long daggers, see A.N. at bottom) that came with the Hx-Armor.

Aile jumped off the low cliff and activated her four hover jets, located on her boots and in the two giant thrusters on her back. However, she didn't quite hover, instead floating downwards at a very slow pace, much like a dropped feather.

Model H had a major problem: He had been severely damaged by years of misuse, not to mention the methods that Serpent had used to extract his password. His aerial thrusters had been damaged as a result, so his flight ability was severely limited. In addition, the blueprints necessary to repair the units were concealed in both his sealed memories, and in the missing half of his data. Model H knew that he was capable of permanent flight, but in his condition, all he could manage was short aerial dashes and slow descents.

"Eh, it's better than nothing." Was Aile's response to this information. "Short air dashes and slow descents? X and Z can't do that, so you have something I can use. The only real problem is that you don't have an actual ranged weapon. Well, that and I have to memorize three different attack patterns based on each of your armors."

At this point, X had recovered enough for Aile to use the X-Armor, so Aile had access to three different weapon systems: the long range X-Buster, the multipurpose Zx-Buster/Saber, and now the melee Hx-Rondels. The long daggers were different enough from the Zx-Saber that she needed to learn how to use them virtually from scratch, as the Zx-Saber was a slashing weapon, while these were more multipurpose for both slashing and stabbing.

**If nothing else, you'll practically be a weapons master once this is done. If memory serves, Model L has a spear or halberd, F uses heavy cannons, and P… actually I don't remember P's weapons, but I do know they're different from the rest.**

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, X, but I don't see _you_ having to master all of these techniques."

**I did mention once that all I need is the X-Buster. Although… I can't exactly remember why. Maybe some kind of elemental variation system, or something.**

**Speaking of, Aile…** Model H spoke up. **My systems contain an energy projector that can project electrical attacks. It will give you an advantage against enemies that use a fire-based element in their systems.**

"Wait, what? I never understood this whole 'elemental triangle', what-beats-what thing. Could you explain that?"

Model X spoke up. **I believe I can answer that, Aile. There are two general types of combat reploids: Those that can manipulate an element, and those that cannot. Machines that use an element must be built of special components to resist or amplify those particular elements, which in turn, make them weak against other elements. You get that so far?**

"That makes sense. But what defeats what, and why?"

**Well, the element triangle goes something like this: Fire beats ice, ice beats electricity, and electricity beats fire. The main reason for this is the components. Electricity-using reploids are typically flying reploids. For the most part, their systems are designed to allow continuous electrical current to enhance their power. In addition, they are made of lightweight components to allow flight. But ice-based weapons not only slow down that current flow and weaken them, but they can also cause ice buildup, hindering flight.**

"Okay, I can understand that."

**Ice-based reploids could also be called aquatic reploids. For the most part, their components are designed to withstand high levels of pressure and low temperatures, in the case of deep-sea reploids. But the major part of this is their hydraulic systems. They use a special fluid that will not freeze in low temperatures, to allow continuous operation in very cold environments like the bottom of the ocean, not to mention that they are immune to the effects of their own attacks. But this fluid is a double-edged sword in that it evaporates at fairly low temperatures. A fire-based attack can cause this fluid to evaporate, and a gas is absolutely useless in a hydraulic system, leaving the reploid defenseless and unable to move.**

"That makes perfect sense. And the last is electricity beats fire, right?"

**Exactly. Fire-based reploids are the opposite of ice-based ones, in that they are designed to withstand immense levels of heat. However, there are very few alloys that are capable of withstanding such temperatures. And those particular alloys are unfortunately very, **_**very**_**good conductors. An electrical attack can send an immense level of electricity through the armor of a reploid not designed for such impulses, and they can overload the reploid's systems.**

"I see…" Aile paused. "Wait a minute! Does this mean that _I'll_ be vulnerable to a particular element in each armor?"

**Umm…** Model H began, but Model X interrupted him. **Fortunately, each of these armors is united with me, and I am very resilient to all elemental weapons. I've run simulations, and although Model H himself may become…uncomfortable…in cold environments and against ice-based weapons, you and your performance will be unaffected, more or less.**

**That's good news, since our next mission is in such an environment.**

Model Z, who'd been floating nearby, came over. **Prairie just called. She's picked up a distress signal and a Biometal signature in Area F. She also said that it's snowing over there, so it's bound to be cold.**

Aile started for the transerver, which wasn't too far. "And did you ask her how Nuppie and the rest are settling in?"

**No, but I did hear some of them in the background.**

"And?"

Model Z gave her a mental smirk. **I'd have to call it, 'organized chaos'.**

* * *

"Gah, go away!"

The operator Gardenia swatted at the cyber elves hovering next to her head for the umpteenth time, which they easily dodged, all while giggling the whole time. The operator removed her gaze from the console to glare at the little miscreants.

The cyber elves were staying on the ship, and a fairly sizeable number of them, wanting to be near the caring Prairie (Who asked them not to refer to her as Alouette), had invaded the bridge, much to Gardenia's dismay. She didn't like to be distracted.

"Doesn't this bother you, Tulip?" She asked the purple-haired operator next to her. Tulip shook her head, as she simply ignored the little balls of light whirling around and/or settling on her head.

Marguerite, on the other hand, was enjoying herself. A hacker-type elf named Totten, who looked like a kid with giant glasses, was pointing out several things on her console she could alter to improve its usefulness, while a couple other elves dozed on her headset.

Finally, a couple elves that had gone to explore the ship had unfortunately encountered the eccentric Cedre, and were currently cowering under Prairie's chair.

Prairie was trying her best to restore order when the console beeped. Gardenia shot the elves near her one more scathing look before turning back to her console. "Prairie, Aile has entered Area F. She's asking where the distress signal came from."

"Tell her that we can't pinpoint the exact location due to the snowstorm, and that she should use her own judgment in finding it."

* * *

"Gee, thanks." Aile muttered into the unresponsive comm. All around her, snow was falling. Even in the Zx-Armor, she was having problems.

"X, _please_ tell me this thing has a heating system or something."

**Well, kind of. It's not perfect though, so expect some cold to seep through.**

"Swell…"

The snow was falling fiercely. It was a blizzard of epic proportions. Normally, she wouldn't have even dreamed of heading into such weather. Now, with everything on the line, she hadn't even thought twice about it, and charged into the storm.

Naturally, she was regretting her decision in about five minutes. Five minutes of slashing/shooting mavericks, and dealing with the sheer, unrelenting _cold_!

To make things worse, her head injury was starting to feel weird, and it was making Aile uncomfortable. She didn't know what the feeling was, but she knew the cold was causing it, and it was giving her a bad feeling.

Plus, the mental feeling of Model H hiding 'behind' her and shivering was starting to annoy her.

**Aile, there's some kind of opening in the ground in front of us. And I'm detecting some kind of electronics beyond this point.** Model X informed her.

"M-must be the level c-controls for the lake u-under us. M-maybe there's an opening n-near there."

**Cold?**

"N-no, I've suddenly d-developed a s-stutter, Model Z. Of _c-course_ it's cold!"

**R-r-right. W-what she s-said.**

Aile felt a small stab of pity for Model H. He sounded absolutely miserable. The sooner they got out of this weather, the better.

She jumped into the opening, which mercifully separated her from the raging blizzard overhead, and defeated a bunch of mechaniloids that resembled face sculptures. "Okay, if memory serves, there's an underground lake that extends into the mountains, where there's a bunch of data storage centers. I can't tell for certain, but the distress signal seems to have come from that general direction. So if I can find the maintenance ducts for the lake's level control systems, we should be able to get there."

However, she couldn't find the blasted ducts, even with Model H's dedicated analysis systems.

**I guess we'll just have to take the alternate route.**

Aile blinked. "Um, what alternate route?"

Model Z directed her to a door, which she entered, and her eyes widened.

**Why, go through the lake, of course.**

Right in front of her was the massive underground lake, which spanned for miles in any direction. Nobody was sure if it was a natural formation or not, but it was obvious that it was _huge_.

"U-um…"

Model Z nudged her gently. **Now Aile, don't tell me you're afraid of the water.**

"Uh, not exactly…"

Z had been joking, but she was deadly serious.

X noticed her hesitation, not to mention the look in her eyes. **Aile, what's the matter?**

"I, uh…"

Aile sighed.

"I can't swim."

Silence reigned for the moment, while the Biometals shared a collective blink.

Finally, Model Z laughed. **What? And you thought we were going to let you swim through that unprotected? You'd freeze to death! Not to mention that the mavericks would probably get you.**

**Aile, our armors are far too heavy to float with. You'd sink like a rock.**

Aile's face contorted into an expression of horror, but Model X continued.

**However, we all have a simplified hazard protection system, which protects you from natural hazards. A water environment is no problem. We can produce air for you to breathe, so you can stay underwater for a very long time. Granted, Model L is best for aquatic environments, but you'll be fine with us for now.**

Aile looked unconvinced, and Model X sighed. **Look, that area just on your left isn't that deep. Just lower yourself in, and if you have any problems, you can jump right back out, okay? Just give it a try. Trust me.**

"A-Alright…"

She had no reason not to trust Model X, but she still hesitated as she lowered herself into the water. Just as the water touched her helm, the Zx-Armor responded, and a mask of some kind appeared over her mouth and nose, while some sort of transparent material kept the water out of her eyes. She cautiously breathed in, and was greatly relieved when air filtered into her lungs. In addition, she noticed that her armor's shields were briefly flaring to life, keeping the near-frozen water from making her colder, which was a relief.

**See? Nothing to worry about. Now the only real problem is navigating through this lake.**

Aile immediately noticed that her movements were dramatically slowed while in the water. In addition, due to the nature of her superheated plasma-based weapons, nearly all of her weapons lost a bit of power while submerged. The X-Buster was the best off, since it was designed for any environment, with the Zx-Saber coming in a close second for the same reason. Fortunately for her, the only mavericks she had to deal with were simple aquatic-based mechaniloids and galleon hunters with diving equipment, both of which were easy to kill.

"Hmm. I wonder how Prairie and the rest are doing."

* * *

Fortunately for Prairie and the operators, they had finally found a temporary caretaker for the cyber elves, since most of them were now playing with Sardine. Some were still on the bridge, and some were being given a tour of the ship by Carrelet. A couple, Nuppie included, had holed up in Aile's room with the intention of surprising the transporter when she got back.

Unfortunately, there were still a couple wandering aimlessly around the ship. Another cyber elf curiously wandered into the armory, only to flee as Cedre took a potshot at it with her rocket launcher. She hadn't hit anything explosive yet, but who knew how long _that _would last.

* * *

"Eh, they're probably fine."

Working her way through the underwater labyrinth of passages and ice, Aile finally emerged at the base of the mountains northeast of Innerpeace. Right in front of her, built right into the side of the mountain, was a complex of indeterminable height and size.

"If memory serves, this is the data processing center for the computer systems that maintain the environment in Innerpeace, or something linked to it. It's located here because of convenience: it never goes above 30 degrees Celsius, so there's no need for a cooling system. The distress signal came from somewhere in there…"

Suddenly, a wave of static washed over her comm. unit, as though someone had opened a line to her, but wasn't speaking. "Hello? Is someone there?"

Silence greeted her. "Hmm… X, isolate that signal's direction and open the line to Prairie." He did so. She heard mild pandemonium on the other end of the line, but she ignored it. "Prairie? I've got a directional fix on the distress signal. Can you triangulate it's exact position?"

"Yes, just give me a moment."

* * *

Prairie turned to Tulip, who was still dutifully working. "Tulip, use the data Aile sent us and triangulate the signal's position using the initial location data, and our current location."

Tulip set to work, skillfully ignoring the couple cyber elves still hanging around. "Done Ma'am. Should I send Aile the coordinates?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Transmitting coordinates…"

* * *

In her mind's eye, Aile observed the three spikes of directional fix data, two from Guardian HQ, one from her, as they crossed at a single point not 12 feet in front of her, but about 50 feet up. It was at the top of the complex. "Okay, got the coordinates. I'm moving towards that location."

"Roger that Aile. Oh, and we've pinpointed the Biometal signature."

"And?"

"It's located somewhere beneath you. There's a hatch nearby that leads straight to it, but it's locked. We can hack the lock from here, but that will take a bit of time. In the meanwhile, find the source of the distress signal."

"Can do Prairie. Aile out."

Aile entered the complex, which looked as though it had been unoccupied for years. There was snow and ice on nearly every surface. Oh, and there were mavericks aplenty.

**I'm willing to bet that these are the remnants of the maverick force that the Guardians defeated while we were in Area D. They seem to be blocking the stairs Aile.**

"Swell." Aile shifted to the Hx-Armor, and used the armor's limited boosters to climb through the complex, ignoring the stairs and cutting the occasional maverick apart with the twin blades. "See H? Even without permanent flight, You're still useful."

**G-glad to be of se-service.**

"Oh for all the-" Aile paused to liberate a polar bear mechaniloid of it's arms, shortly followed by it's head. "H, it is not that cold in here, so stop shivering already."

As if to prove her point, she dismissed the Hx-Armor so she could crawl through a narrow duct too small for the somewhat bulky armors, and while it was slightly chilly, it was endurable.

"See? It's fine H."

**I-it's more the area, not the t-temperature.**

In her mind, Aile could see Model Z rolling his eyes.

**Ignore him. You even mention the words 'cold' or 'ice' in his vicinity, he gets just like this. It's just something you have to get used to, I'm afraid.**

Model H gave an indignant growl, but Aile interrupted them. "You know, you seem to know how H was back then, and you and X mentioned something about how X lived back when he was still alive. How do you know that when your memory blocks are still on?"

They were silent. Finally, Model H spoke. **Perhaps with their memory blocks eroding, it's possible that some of these blocks are loosening reflexively when they refer to something familiar to them. In this way, it is likely that they will reflexively open wider until they disappear altogether. Barring any event that forces them open, of course. Oh, and you might want to engage the X or Zx armor at this point Aile.**

"Why?"

A muted roar echoed through the room Aile had just stepped into. Right there was the same model crushpactor as the one she had encountered in the power plant.

"Oh. That's why."

* * *

(About five minutes of shooting later)

"X, where's that distress beacon at?"

**About eight yards directly in front of us.**

Aile walked past the remains of the behemoth mechaniloid and entered the door beyond it. She was greeted by a massive computer terminal. But there was nobody there.

"Prairie? Come in please."

The second the comm. came to life, she heard a distant 'boom'. Then, Aile cringed as a loud voice echoed through the comm. In fact, it almost sounded like Prairie.

"DAMN IT CEDRE! STOP SHOOTING AT THE CYBER ELVES, OR I WILL PERSONALLY TAKE YOUR ROCKET LAUNCHER AND -"

Aile swiftly cut the connection. Had she been able to look at her face, she might have been surprised that she could make such an expression.

"Uh, I think I'll call back later."

Before the Biometals could comment, Aile heard the same static through her comm. as she did earlier. But this time, the terminal in front of her flashed at the same time.

"This terminal must be the source of the distress call."

Aile and the three Biometals examined it.

**Aile, there's a data disk in this slot here.** Model X called.

**There's one here too. Fairly well encrypted too, as far as I can tell.** Model H reported.

"Well, they're hooked up to this computer terminal right? Let's take a look."

Aile accessed the first disk. The first item was a log of some kind, which she accessed.

_DATA LOG 23448-19290_

_-July 23, 2258-  
__Reconnaissance team 20 dispatched to location g-23x regarding an unusual energy signature. It was located deep underground. We arrived at the site and started a low-scale excavation. We will report when we have unearthed anything. _

_-August 2, 2258-  
__We've unearthed something unusual. It's just a piece of metal, about the size of an outstretched hand, but it's emitting some unknown type of energy. In addition, the energy waves seem to be fluctuating. It's almost like it's… alive. We've reported this to the base, but we haven't heard a reply yet. In the meantime, we'll conduct research on the metal fragment, and continue excavating for anything else like it._

_-August 3, 2258-  
__A communiqué from the base came through. Apparently, the commander has been looking for something like this for some time. She's coming to investigate the object herself, and she's ordered us to keep our distance from the object at all costs. Something is going on, that's for sure._

_-August 9, 2258-  
__The commander arrived yesterday, and immediately went to work on identifying the metal fragment. She called it a 'Biometal', and designated it as, 'Model W'. Apparently, she knows what it is. Soon after she completed her analysis, which took about 20 minutes, she gave us the order to quarantine the fragment as best as possible, and to keep a sharp eye out for unusual behavior among our number. Then, she left for the base._

_-August 11, 2258-  
__Our first problem arose today. One of the newer members, reploid by the name of Serpent, collapsed when he passed within 10 feet of Model W, clutching his head. We've quarantined him, and placed him as far from the Biometal as possible. We've also received word that HQ is sending some serious quarantine gear to contain this thing._

_END LOG __23448-19290_

"That's the end of the log." Aile looked it over again. "Wait a minute, _Serpent_!? This log was dated more than a century ago, how could he possibly be around!?"

**Aile, there's an audio file here, too. Perhaps it can explain this.**

Aile accessed the file. A hissing static entered the room, and Aile realized that the terminal's speakers were completely wrecked. So she located a cable near the terminal, plugged it in, and re-ran the file. It must have worked, since a tinny voice spoke through her helmet's speakers.

_"I-I don't have much time left. I can only pray this reaches the correct ears. We uncovered an unknown metal in this area. It seems…alive. Commander Ciel called it Biometal Model W. We were ordered to quarantine it, but our efforts were for nothing, it seems. One of our own went mad and destroyed the entire unit, then erased the research data and vanished with the Biometal. I believe his name was Serpent. Using what data we have, I will attempt to decipher the cause of his insanity below…"_

There was a gentle click, alerting Aile to the fact that the file had ended. She searched for the next file, but to her surprise, there wasn't one.

Model Z issued a startled sound. **commander...Ciel? Ugh, I know that name...but I don't remember it! But...why do I feel like I _want_ to remember it?**

"Relax Model Z. Maybe there's a clue on the second disk. Hang on..."

She went to access the second data disk, but she was blocked. The screen of the terminal gave her the reason why.

_-ACCESS DENIED-  
_-_ENCRYPTION DEVICE TYPE CL-X REQUIRED-  
_-_ENCRYPTION DEVICE TYPE CL-H REQUIRED-  
_-_ENCRYPTION DEVICE TYPE CL-L REQUIRED-  
_-_ENCRYPTION DEVICE TYPE CL-P REQUIRED-  
_-_ENCRYPTION DEVICE TYPE CL-Z REQUIRED-  
_-_ENCRYPTION DEVICE TYPE CL-F REQUIRED-_

**Type CL? Aile, that's an encryption drive used exclusively by Biometals! CL-X, CL-Z, CL-H… It's asking for the combined encryptions of all six Biometals!**

"What does that mean, X?"

**It means that all six of these drives had to be present when this encryption was set up. It must have been made at the same time as we were. Those drives are solely for use by us: only we can use them.** Model Z told her.

"Hmm…" Aile poked around the computer a bit more, and found something interesting. The computer's registry had recorded that several files had been removed from the first data disk.

"Someone beat us to the data. It's probably not here then... sorry Model Z. I guess there isn't another clue here."

**It's alright... I'll find out sooner or later anyways. Let's go after the Biometal signature; there's a chance the pseudoroid might have the missing data. And take those disks with you; we can examine them later.**

"Got it, Z." She plucked the drives out of the terminal and stashed them away, heading out the door and back into the complex. "So, I can only examine that one disk if I've got all six of you Biometals?"

**All six **_**complete **_**Biometals. Remember, H's data is split in half. He can't defeat his memory blocks or use his encryptions without that data. It's likely that all of the Biometals will have the same problem.**

"I guess we'll have to wait on that data then."

Aile located the aforementioned hatch, which was now unlocked, and jumped down.

Right back into the underground lake.

"Ugh… not again."

* * *

"Hm?" Gardenia noticed something on her monitor. "Prairie, The distress beacon has vanished. Also, Aile's moving away from the distress signal's location towards the Biometal reading."

"She must have reached the distress beacon point already. Why didn't she inform us?"

Marguerite spoke up. "I've got a record of a contact with Aile about 13 minutes ago, which lasted about 9 seconds. Apparently, she established a comm. link just as you were, uh, chewing out Cedre, Ma'am."

"Oh..." Prairie gnawed on her lip for a second. "Just tell her to head back when she recovers the Biometal. We can discuss what she found then."

* * *

"Aile, you there?"

Aile blinked as her comm. came to life. "You're one of the operators… Marguerite, right?"

"That's me. Prairie wants you to know that you'll have to discuss what you found at the distress beacon when you get back, okay?"

"Tell her that I've got a data disk she can look at. The Biometal signature is close, so I'll see you when I get back."

"Okay, bye."

Aile headed through a thick door, into a huge submerged area, engaging the X-Armor as she did, since the X-Buster was the most effective weapon underwater.

"Model X, is it close?"

**Very. I can sense it… somewhere in front of us.**

"Oh my! Who do we have here?"

Aile blinked as a small form came into view. It looked for all the world like a little doll, hanging from a cable. Where the cable went, Aile couldn't tell.

"Human? Ahh, you must be one of those horrid interlopers trying to stop poor Lord Serpent's plan. Oh, and you have a disk? I thought I told those worthless mavericks to leave anything of importance with me! Worthless fools."

"You must have the other half of the disk! Where is it!?"

The pseudoroid, and Aile had no doubt that was what the thing was, leered at her. The leer was somewhat offset by the thing's tiny voice.

"Well hmph! You're so rude! I'm not telling you anything, so how do you like that!?"

Aile gaped at the little pseudoroid. Sure, the pseudoroids were chatty, but Hivolt hadn't been anywhere near this childish. Eventually, though, anger beat out surprise.

"Well, how about I _beat_ you, and then you tell me?"

"Ooh, you're so mean! That's it, I'll tear you into pieces little girl!"

Aile smirked. In perfect honesty, she'd been unhappy about the missing data, and the fact that Serpent was in it, and she needed something to take her frustration out on. "Do your worst, you little…uh…" Aile paused. "Which one are you, by the way?"

"You're so ignorant! It's no wonder Lord Serpent is having such a hard time with you! I am the lovely Model L pseudoroid, Lurerre! Now scream for me, you little pest!"

Lurerre shot a handful of ice arrows at Aile. Aile dove to the side, but gasped in pain as a couple hit her right in the chest, and her entire upper body went numb with cold. Fortunately, they didn't penetrate the X-Armor, but she knew she couldn't take too many attacks like that.

**Aile, the water slows your movements! Be careful, and react ahead of time.**

"I'll try X, but I don't know if I can dodge that fast."

Model Z spoke up. **Aile, you jump much higher underwater, thanks to the buoyant force of the water. Try jumping over her attacks if you can.**

Lurerre fired more ice arrows at Aile. This time, Aile jumped, and the buoyant force of the water seemed to lift her over the attacks.

"Oh, aren't you clever. Then try this!" Lurerre fired a chunk of ice over Aile's head, which scattered small flakes of itself as it passed over her.

**Ice mines! They'll freeze you solid if they touch you! Aile, MOVE!!**

Aile discovered, much to her relief, that the Rapid Mobility (Dash) System still worked underwater, although somewhat slowed. She easily boosted out of harms way, and unloaded a few shots at the little doll. Lurerre dodged her fire though, and counterattacked with more ice arrows, which missed.

"H, can you do an analysis?"

**I can try, but it won't be as effective, since I'm not currently active.**

Model H started scanning Lurerre with his powerful analytical system.

The pseudoroid lowered herself level to Aile, and fired an ice beam at Aile. Aile figured it was an ice beam because as it came towards her, it froze the water in front of it, until a sheer wall of ice was shooting at her.

Aile leveled the X-Buster at the ice wall, and fired as rapidly as she could in an attempt to push the beam to one side. Rather than that, the ice wall was pushed back slightly with every attack.

_If I can time this right…_Aile pushed it back far enough, then charged the X-Buster. She barely hit the wall in time with a full power blast, and though the wall melted slightly, it didn't break. Aile mentally held the X-Buster's stored second shot in reserve, firing standard fire at the wall and pushing it back, all while mentally gauging the distance to Lurerre. She guessed when the wall was close enough, and fired.

The blast hammered the ice wall, blasted through it, and still had enough energy to splash across the pseudoroid directly behind it.

Lurerre screamed, and the doll disappeared in a tiny flash.

Model H completed his scan, and gasped. **Aile, get back!!**

She reflexively threw herself backwards, just in time.

A giant fish suddenly charged from behind where Lurerre had been, it's enormous jaws clamping shut around where she'd been. Aile's eyes went wide.

"She's based on an angler fish… only ten times my size…"

The cable on top of the fish's head sparkled, and reformed into the doll again. "Ooh, you're fast! But you can't evade me forever, you know!"

**Aile, the exterior of that mechaniloid is invulnerable to damage.** Model H reported. **And although you dealt some damage to Lurerre's 'lure', I'm afraid that Model L is located in that doll's head. I recommend an attack on the mechaniloid's interior, but I don't know how.**

Without warning, the fish's mouth opened, and Aile found herself being pulled towards it. Overhead, she could see Lurerre preparing to throw ice arrows. She reflexively fired a low-powered shot at the fish's open mouth, but the pseudoroid shut the fish's mouth before it hit, and Aile's attack bounced off.

"Oh my, did you honestly think I would let you do that?"

**Aile, we're at a disadvantage here. We need some way to level the playing field.**

"Hang on, I'll think of something…"

"Ooh, stop hiding over there! I'll blow you apart!" The fish's mouth opened again, revealing a massive torpedo nearly a third as big as the mechaniloid itself. Aile immediately formulated a plan, but it would not be pretty.

"Gotcha!" Aile dashed right towards the fish, much to the surprise of both Lurerre and the Biometals.

**Aile, what are you doing!?**

"Z, H, lend X any power you have, _now_!!" Aile mentally focused the X-Armor's shields right in front of her, and dashed as fast as she could.

Lurerre saw her plan, and frantically tried to close the fish's jaws, but the torpedo was already launching.

Aile hit the torpedo head on, while it was still inside the fish. The resulting explosion tore the mechaniloid apart.

Lurerre screamed as she was torn off her mechaniloid counterpart. "Ahh! How could you do this to my precious body!? Even your death wasn't worth it! Ahhhh!!" She exploded violently.

When the smoke cleared, a delicate, somewhat feminine, blue Biometal was visible. Said Biometal glanced left and right in confusion. **Huh? Where'd she go? Is she alright?**

Model L finally heard a voice. She floated towards it.

* * *

**Aile, are you alright!? Speak to me!**

"…"

Model H ran a quick scan. **She's alive. The concussion from the explosion must have her head spinning, but she's otherwise unharmed. That was very clever of her, you know.**

**WHAT!? **Model X rounded fiercely on the green Biometal. **She may have very well killed herself, H! She should be lucky she's alive! She probably has a concussion, for all we know!**

**She obviously realized that the torpedo, by design, would transmit it's concussive force physically through the water, rather than a conventional energy-based explosion. And since our personal shields are oriented to resist physical impacts and forces more than energy-based attacks, she realized that the shield would diffuse enough damage to prevent fatal injury. Simple, really.**

"A-actually, I didn't know that the shield resisted physical impacts, H. I just guessed that the shield would hold off any fatal damage, that's all."

Aile finally managed to hear something other than a piercing whine in her head. But her comment didn't seem to help things.

X mentally glared daggers at her. **You mean to tell me that you dove headlong at an enormous explosive torpedo based on a **_**guess**_**!? Are you insane, Aile!?**

Model Z, on the other hand, shrugged. **I guess we got lucky. And X, sometimes you have to improvise. Take a look over there. That's Model L, I believe. Meaning, we beat the pseudoroid. And Aile will live to fight another day. Sure, it was a gamble, but it paid off in the end, right?**

X said nothing, but he did continue to alter his mental glare between Model Z and Aile. Model Z ignored his companion. **Aile, do promise me that you'll at least let us know before you try something like that again, okay? I swear, if I'd had a heart, it would have leapt out right then. Oh, and you might want to swap armors: the X-armor looks pretty bad.**

"Gotcha. And I promise, Z." Aile engaged the Zx-Armor, and wearily stood upright.

Right in front of her, the Biometal that was apparently Model L was giving her an amused glance. **I'd say you're either brave or reckless, but you managed to free me from that annoying Lurerre. Thank you very much.**

"You're Model L, right?"

**That I am. Model L, Biometal of the Ice. I already know about you, Aile… and I know about you as well, Model Z.**

Aile swapped with Model H, letting Z appear in front of her.

**What do you know about me, L?**

Model L gave the impression of narrowing her eyes. **I heard that you let your own chosen get killed by Serpent.**

Aile felt a stab of pain and guilt in her heart, but Model Z flinched as though she'd struck him.

**…Yes. My failure led to the death of a good man named Giro…**

"Model Z…"

He turned to regard her. **Aile, regardless of the fact that you blame yourself for his death, it was ultimately my inability, my **_**failure**_** to defeat Model W's control over Giro, that forced you to damage him beyond repair.** Aile's eyes widened. **Had I been stronger, he would still be alive, and things would be different. But I couldn't… And now Giro is dead, and you have a wound that will likely never heal, all because of my **_**weakness**_**!**

Aile realized that while she'd been blaming herself, Z had been probably been doing the same thing. Maybe even more than she had.

_But you're wrong. You're absolutely, completely __wrong__._

"Model Z, if I hadn't run off into Area D, none of that would have happened in the first place. I went off alone, and you and Giro came after me. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine, and mine alone." She spoke slowly, ignoring the lancing pain that cut through her heart with every word.

**Whatever may have happened, it's already happened, and placing blame won't change that.** Model L said, catching their attention. **All you can do now is look forward, and face what's coming. Looking back only causes you to trip and fall, and you'll never accomplish anything. So you both got him killed. **She ignored the fact that they both flinched heavily as she said it. **Looking back and deciding how things could have gone differently will not make it happen. But if you look forward and do what he asked you to do, then you can make his death worth something, regardless of whose fault it is.**

Aile and Model Z gazed at the ground silently. For a moment, nobody spoke.

**Besides, if you don't move forward, then I'll never get a chance to battle Serpent! It should be an interesting challenge to take on the one who bested the mighty Model Z!**

Aile blinked at L's abrupt change in attitude. "Uh…"

Despite the situation, Model H almost smirked. **Yes, unfortunately, she's always like that.**

* * *

AN: Regarding Model H's weapons, I decided not to go with the generic description of 'beam sabers' or 'beam gladii', and opted for something that actually looks like what the weapons themselves are. I did some research, and came up with the 'Rondel'. It's a long, round dagger that can be 30 to 50 centimeters in length, roughly 1-2 feet. Typically used as a stabbing weapon, it was designed to penetrate chain main and the joints in thick plate mail.

As a beam weapon, my rondel resembles a short lightsaber 50cm, or half a meter, in length. As I pointed out above, the beam rondel is multipurpose, and can be used as either a stabbing weapon, or a slashing weapon, given it's energy-based blade.

And although in the game it's sole purpose is slashing attacks, I believe it should be more multipurpose. Therefore, for this story, the Hx-Armor's primary weapons will be twin beam rondels.


	13. Heated Discussions

I'm extremely sorry that this took so long to get up. I've had numerous problems, including a bit of writers block, long work hours, and a new game I got recently. However, after about a week or so of adding bits and pieces and stringing them together, I have finally gotten this chapter finished.

Again, apologies for the lateness of the chapter, and I hope you enjoy this latest installment.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Thirteen

Heated Discussions

* * *

"U-ugh…"

Aile opened her eyes wearily. "What happened?"

**You passed out after using the transerver to come back here Aile. You're in Guardian HQ's infirmary right now. You've only been out for an hour or so. We've already informed Prairie about the data we found, and she's already processing it.**

"I…passed out? Why, X?"

**I'd say it has something to do with that hit you took after battling Lurerre. Miss Rose and Miss Muguet said you were suffering from mild hypothermia, exhaustion, and a concussion, in that order. Using the transerver to come back must have finished the job.**

"…Dare I ask how Prairie took it?"

* * *

_"She did __what__!?"_

_Model H tried not to flinch as Prairie spoke. __**She rammed the torpedo with the X-Armor's shield, thus forcing the explosive force in a more spherical direction rather than a shaped forward explosion. The resulting explosion destroyed the pseudoroid's mechaniloid counterpart.**_

_"…I bet she didn't even know what she was doing, right?"_

_**Well, she did say she guessed it would work, but… h-hey, what are you doing!? Put me down!**_

* * *

**…I'd rather not say.**

Aile arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

X sighed. **Model H told her how you beat Lurerre, and she gave him to Fleuve for…'analysis'…because he didn't stop you.**

"Oh. Ouch."

**Don't remind me, it was all I could do to keep them away from the trash compactor. **He winced involuntarily.** Oh, right. Prairie said she wanted to talk to you. Something about hiding your injury from her.**

Aile was silent. She'd been sure she'd be able to keep the wound Giro gave her a secret. As she told Model X and Z earlier, she didn't want to worry Prairie, but there was another reason behind it…

"X, do you know why I didn't want Prairie to know?"

**I have an inkling of an idea, yes. I may not have my memories, but I'm still very perceptive when it comes to my friends, Aile.**

"…Whatever anyone says, that won't stop me from feeling as though I could have done something to save Giro. But I couldn't. And…well…"

**You want the scar as a reminder, no, a **_**warning**_**, to never fail so completely ever again. Am I right?**

Aile blinked. He was, in fact, right on the mark. "How did you…?"

**I recently encountered a memory, one that I feel I should share with you. I can't remember all of it, but I do know enough. You blame yourself for ultimately causing Giro's death?**

Aile flinched, but slowly nodded.

**Yet you were only indirectly responsible. You fought Giro, but had Serpent not attacked, he might have lived, regardless of what Model Z said.**

Model X's voice acquired a sad tone.

**I knew someone who felt much like you do now; a close friend whose name unfortunately escapes me. My friend, well, he loved this one girl with all his heart, and she loved him in return. The two were so inseparable, much like peas in a pod.**

**But she fell prey to the ideals of those around her, particularly her brother's. My friend was forced to kill her brother because a third party set them against each other, and she lost herself in rage. They fought for their futures: she for her fallen brother's ideals; my friend for his pride and his subconscious need to destroy all of his enemies. **

**And in the end, she lay dying in his arms, both knowing that they fought for a foolish reason. She died, and he lived knowing that he killed her with his own two hands.**

"…That's so sad."

**He never forgave himself, I remember that much. He met many other people, but he never allowed himself to become close to anyone ever again, even me, so he wouldn't make the same mistake. In fact, the gulf became so severe that he nearly became what he was sworn to destroy, and I was ultimately forced to fight him. I can't remember much about that particular battle, but neither of us came out of it unscathed.**

"…"

Model X sighed lightly. **You should get some rest, Aile, you could use it. I'll make up something to tell Prairie, so don't worry about anything.** He started floating away.

"No, wait." Model X paused. "You can tell her. I…I don't want to become distanced from everyone around me like your friend did. Prairie's my friend, and Giro's as well, and I don't want to lose that. She'll understand."

**Alright, I'll take care of it. Now get some rest.**

Aile laid back and was asleep before she knew it.

* * *

"I see…" Prairie said after listening. "She blames herself?"

Model X nodded. **More or less. She knows that it was beyond her control, but that doesn't stop her from feeling guilty for surviving when he didn't.**

"And she needs a reminder of that?"

**She believes that her wound might have up and vanished if you had treated it immediately, and she wanted a very pointed reminder that nobody, not even her with our power, is infallible. But in truth, I don't think it would have mattered. She'll carry that scar as long as she lives, and no treatment will ever change that.**

Model Z was silent. He'd understood completely.

Prairie opened her mouth to say something else, but Rose suddenly poked her head in. "Um, Miss Prairie? Can you come here for a minute?"

* * *

"What do you mean, you can't get an accurate scan!?"

Rose backed away slightly, but Muguet stood firm. "I mean exactly what I said Prairie. We can't seem to scan anywhere past Aile's exterior; it just turns up a blank. I can't even run a simple diagnostic on her cybernetics because the remote link is cut off. I managed to get a simplified CAT scan, and that's only enough to show that she won't suffer any permanent damage from her concussion. The only reason I know she's _alive_ is because she has a heartbeat, and I had to find and measure the damned thing by hand! Something is interfering, and I can't determine why, but it's making my job very difficult."

**Perhaps I could try. My analytical systems are very advanced.** Model H offered, but she shook her head.

"I doubt it. I can't figure out _why_ it's blocking us, but I have figured out what is causing it." Muguet glared at the Biometals. "As far as I can tell, the interference has the same resonance frequency as Models X and Z."

The two Biometals gave the impression of blinking, then turned to each other.

**X, you don't suppose…**

**Yes, during the merge. That must be it.**

**Well, you explain it then. I don't feel like it.**

X gave the impression of rolling his eyes, then turned to the others. **When Z and I merged simultaneously with Aile in Area D, something happened. According to our logs, our suppressed memories were unsealed briefly to do…something. We don't know what, but we can't figure it out either. Our inner selves must have wanted it to stay hidden until the right moment.**

"I see…" Prairie mused for a second. "Alright then. I guess we'll have to wait."

Muguet gaped. "_Wait_!? What if it's something serious!? Who knows what they could have done to Aile! We should-"

Prairie shot Muguet a glare, cutting the nurse off. "I trust Model X and Model Z. I know that they would never do something to harm Aile. Whatever they _did_, it must have been for a good reason. There's nothing fatally wrong with Aile, so we'll wait until they decide to tell us."

**Plus, we did save her life in the process, so whatever we did, it can't have been harmful to her.** Model X pointed out.

Muguet was silent for a moment. "Fine, but she's staying in the infirmary until she fully recovers from her concussion. Is that alright?"

Prairie nodded. "Yes, that's fine. In the meantime, I need to talk to you four. Come with me please."

She left, and the four Biometals followed suit.

* * *

A few days passed in this fashion. Muguet and Rose would wake Aile up in a few varied attempts to treat her head injury, or try to scan her again, or something along those lines. Finally, on the third day, Aile got fed up with it, and ducked out of the infirmary while the two nurses were busy.

She stealthily maneuvered around the airship, only being spotted by a few Guardians, who immediately flinched away at the sight of the ugly wound on her head. Aile recalled why she'd gone to great lengths to wear some kind of armor while on the ship since Giro's death, since the wound itself was largely noticeable. And she didn't have her Biometals with her, so she couldn't do that.

_I have got to get out of sight._

She reached her room without much incident, closing and locking the door behind her. She turned to take in the view of the small room, and noticed something out of place. There was a small bundle on the bed, which she picked up.

It was a simple white headband, just wide enough to cover her entire forehead while thin enough to fit under her helmet(s). It also featured two tiny pins on either side. The first was a tiny version of the Guardian's logo: a golden ticket with a pink/red letter G in the center. The second resembled an emerald green beam saber, reminiscent of Giro's Z-Saber.

Aile noticed a note under where the headband had rested.

_Aile, the Biometals and I made this for you. I'm sure you'll make good use of it. The pins used to belong to Giro, and I feel he would have wanted you to have them.  
__Don't forget that we're all with you, Aile. You don't have to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders alone.  
-Prairie-_

Aile read the note, re-read it, and then read it again, but the words didn't change. Her gaze drifted to the headband in her other hand, and she clasped it against her chest impulsively.

"Prairie…thanks."

* * *

"Ah, so she's after the Biometals?"

Prometheus rolled his eyes and managed to not look bored as Pandora continued her report.

"Yes… As I observed, she has already acquired…Models H and L from Hivolt and Lurerre."

"Perfect. We can lure her away with another pseudoroid, then destroy those annoying Guardians. Perhaps…I have it; I'll send Purprill to lure her to Area H. The psychological impact of such an area will start the process of weakening her resolve. Also, since Area H is rather remote, it should take her some time to get back from there. Make your preparations for the assault."

"Gotcha."

"Understood…"

Prometheus and Pandora turned to leave, but their exit was cut short by a dragonfly mechaniloid that hurriedly flew to Serpent and dropped a note into his waiting hand.

"_WHAT!?_" He roared loudly, making the siblings jump slightly. Serpent turned towards them, a vein standing out in his forehead.

"You two, forget the assault for the moment: I have a new mission for you. It appears that one of my Model F Pseudoroids, Fistleo, has apparently grown bored with following my orders to wait, and has gone to attack the city. I highly doubt that you'll be able to bring him back before the girl gets to him. Observe the battle between him and the Chosen. If she wins, bring what's left of him back, so I can remind him why _I_ make the decisions around here."

* * *

Somehow, Aile managed to avoid Muguet and Rose for the rest of the day, even getting some assistance from the other Guardians, making it rather difficult to locate her. After a rather long search, Prairie and the four Biometals located Aile in the kitchen, helping Sardine make dinner for the ship's crew. Since they seemed to be busy, Prairie waited until the two amateur chefs finished before she went after the young transporter, but Aile had managed to slip away again.

**This is infuriating. I shudder to think what she'll do once she gets her hands on Model P and his stealth capabilities.**

Model X's statement was seconded by the other Biometals.

* * *

A teenage human about 17 or 18 wore a grin as he walked through Area G. He'd managed to score a contract with none other than Slither Inc. Granted, it was a lowly position, but one could only go upwards in such an environment. And the pay was superb too, even at that point.

More thoughts along that particular line were dramatically interrupted when a building suddenly exploded. The teen threw himself to the ground reflexively as glass shattered and rained down on him. All around him people screamed, and he just managed to look up and see the hundreds of mavericks descending towards the city.

* * *

Prairie had just finished her meal (Which was actually pretty good; Aile and Sardine made pretty good chefs) when the alarm suddenly went off all over the ship.

"Attention! Mavericks detected in Area G! All hands, report to standby positions! Repeat…"

Prairie was out of the mess hall and bursting onto the bridge in record time, Marguerite rushing in behind her. "Status!"

"Prairie, we've got several dozen confirmed Maverick attacks all over Area G. We've got numerous casualties already."

Prairie sat in her chair and brought the data up on her screen as fast as possible. "Enemy types?"

"Mostly fire-elemental mechaniloids, and most of the district is engulfed in flames. In addition, there's an unusual reading I can't put a fix on."

"Keep at it Gardenia. Tulip, coordinate the Guardian squads into mixed maverick repulsion and search/rescue patterns. Our primary goal is to evacuate the civilians. Marguerite, keep track of the maverick and civilian positions, and keep our soldiers well-informed."

"Yes, ma'am!" The operators responded. Prairie flipped on the comm. "All units, Area G is under heavy attack by mavericks, mostly fire-elemental mechaniloids. The area has already sustained heavy damage. Repel the mavericks and evacuate the civilians. We will be in transerver range in 33 seconds, so be ready."

"Wait!"

Prairie turned in surprise as Aile burst onto the bridge through a side door, which actually led to Prairie's room. "I can help, Prairie! Let me go and help drive off the mavericks!"

Under normal circumstances, Prairie would have been rather annoyed that Aile had been hiding in her room, but circumstances were hardly ordinary. "No Aile, leave the mavericks to the Guardians. You have the best ability to enter unsafe buildings and search for civilians trapped inside. Pick up a portable transerver from Maquereau so you can evacuate them. Your Biometals should be waiting for you in the transerver room. Now get going!"

Aile nodded sharply and headed for the transerver, neatly sidestepping Muguet as the nurse entered the bridge.

Prairie acknowledged the nurse immediately. "Muguet, I want you and Rose to head down there once things have settled a bit, and treat any wounded. Gather whatever you need and be ready. And ask Nuppie and the rest to help as well. They shouldn't use their powers, but they could still assist you in treating the wounded."

The head nurse, who recognized the gravity of the situation, saluted and dashed off.

"Ma'am, we're in range." Tulip reported.

"Thank you, Tulip." Prairie hit the comm. "All forces, your orders are to repel the mavericks, rescue the civilians, and put out any fires if you are able. Establish a field base for treating the injured, and pay attention to the maverick locations supplied by the operators. Use portable transervers to evac the civilians to the field base. Now move out!"

* * *

"We need some help over here!"

"There's two civilians trapped in the low rise building northwest of the field base! Someone get to them!"

"This is squad 2 about 800 meters east of the base. We're pinned down by mavericks; can someone lend us a hand?"

It was absolute chaos. Guardian soldiers dashed left and right in response to calls regarding to mavericks or trapped civilians. Panicked townspeople ran here and there in an attempt to escape the fires and mavericks around them. The Guardian's field base was established less than a mile from the heart of the carnage as the Guardians valiantly fought to suppress the tide of mavericks and flames, while still rescuing the civilians.

And at the forefront of this battle/rescue operation was Aile.

"I've got them!" Aile yelled into her comm. as she sent two kids to the evac point with the personal transever she'd been given. Her voice was slightly muffled, since she had engaged her armor's hazard protection system to deal with the smoky air. "Marguerite, is there anyone still in this sector?"

"Negative Aile, that sector is clear." The operator responded promptly. "There's a building about 350 meters N/NE of your position, with five more people in it. Squad 8 went in there for them, but they've met heavy resistance inside. Go help them out, Aile."

"On it!" Aile engaged the Hx-Armor and dashed for the nearest window, ignoring the flames beyond it even as the heat seeped through her shields. The flames couldn't actually touch her, since her shields repelled the actual fire, so the worst she'd get was a simple heat burn due to proximity. Mentally, she praised Prairie for her gift; the headband under her helmet kept her head cool, dry, and devoid of sweat that could cloud her vision.

Once she drifted to the ground, Aile found her path blocked by a small army of galleon hunters, backed by several sculpture-like mechaniloid heads, which could spit huge flamethrowers at her.

**Okay Aile, I've run checks, and you can use my energy projectors to launch small bolts of electrical energy, which will fly towards the nearest metallic object, not counting us. Those flamethrower heads are vulnerable to such an attack, so be sure to use them. But I only have so much energy, and it doesn't recharge immediately, so don't go wild with it.**

"Okay, H."

Aile used her boosters to launch herself into the galleons, effortlessly cutting several apart with a swipe of the Hx-Rondels. She spun around to cut down a couple more, then shot straight upwards as the other mavericks fired at her. She shifted to the Zx-Armor in midair and started charging the Zx-pistol, firing the charged shot the instant she landed and creating a path through the simple mechaniloids. She dashed along this path, which led towards the imposing-yet-immobile flamethrower head mechaniloids, until she ran out of room, then swapped for the Hx-Armor again. Dashing straight up to avoid the nearest one's flamethrower weapon, Aile charged the energy projectors, and cast the ball of energy at the first statue.

The result was immediate, as the statue started sparking as electricity played across the metal surface, scrambling sensors and inhibiting its ability to attack. Aile took full advantage of it, and cut the mechaniloid into four pieces with twin diagonal slashes from the Hx-Rondels. Avoiding the many galleon hunters shooting at her, she repeated the process for the sculptures that happened to be in her way, and then dashed off towards the nearby building, intent on saving the civilians.

* * *

It had taken Aile the space of five minutes to rescue the civilians in the building simply by wall-climbing to the top floor and crashing in. Once she'd convinced them she wasn't a maverick, they'd let her send them off to the Guardian's field base. Then, she'd headed downstairs to ambush the mavericks holding up squad 8, effortlessly cycling between the X, Zx, and Hx armors to do them in (She didn't have enough experience with the new Lx-Armor, so she wasn't using it for the moment).

She had just exited the building, when a voice came over the comm. "Aile, are you there?"

"I'm here."

"It's Maquereau over at the field base. Listen, we've just spotted a large mechaniloid blowing the top off a building rather close to us. You're the best suited to take it on, not to mention the closest one. Get over here and take it out before it decides to come after the civilians here."

"Can do Maquereau."

Aile had actually started running towards the base, less than a second after Maquereau cut the connection, when another voice came over the comm. "Aile, come in, it's Gardenia."

"Something amiss? You sound worried."

"I am, Aile. I checked the unknown signature, and I've confirmed it's identity. Aile, that 'mechaniloid' Maquereau described, is actually a pseudoroid."

Aile didn't say anything. Gardenia continued. "The reason its signal was so jumbled up was for two reasons. First, it's moving around a lot. Second, its energy signature is different from the other two pseudoroids, and I don't know how or why. Be careful when you face it, Aile."

"Don't worry, I will. Aile, out."

* * *

The Guardians weren't quite as capable as Aile was, but they were still more than a match for the average maverick. As such, Aile encountered very little resistance as she located the building in question. It was about 8 stories tall, so it wasn't hard for her to jump up the side and crash in on the top floor, Zx-Saber at the ready.

The room was charred, blown apart, and…empty.

"Wait…Where is it?" Aile glanced around the empty floor. Nothing came into view that looked like a pseudoroid.

**Maybe it's Model P's pseudoroid, and it's hiding from us. Model P was always good at stealth.** Model Z remarked.

Model X shook his head. **No, Model P couldn't have caused this much damage. This has Model F written all over it, which means very heavy firepower. But if this pseudoroid is hiding from us…**

**Then we should expect the worst. Subtlety was never F's strong point.** Model H replied darkly. **L, we need to find it before it finds us. Start looking.**

"And now, stop looking."

Aile spun around, just as an enormous fist seized her. Attached to it was a large, lion-like mechaniloid, flames spurting out of its 'mane'. Aile struggled to escape its grasp, but to no avail.

"I'm Fistleo, the Model F pseudoroid. You're the little girl that's Model X's chosen. Now that we've concluded the introductions, let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

"Muguet, whoever is capable of being moved or simply walking should be evacuated to Area C immediately. The longer the civilians stay here, the greater chance of-"

Maquereau was abruptly silenced by a small explosion from the building nearby. The wall caved outwards as a red figure was forcibly thrust through it. The figure flashed briefly, turning from red to green and confirming its identity.

But Aile couldn't get herself to stop tumbling through the air long enough to get the Hx thrusters to work right. She managed to right herself about four feet off the ground, and had just enough time to curse venomously before she slammed into the ground with tremendous force.

"Aile! Are you alright!?" Maquereau ran over to help as she struggled upright, when the building overhead shuddered again as something else went through it.

Aile was dazed and a bit winded, but she still managed to activate the Hx-Armor's thrusters, grabbing Maquereau as she did, while Fistleo punched the ground where she'd been a second before.

Aile swiftly distanced herself from Maquereau, swapping for the X-Armor and launching plasma at the pseudoroid. Fistleo charged right at her, ignoring both Aile's fire and the fire from the Guardian soldiers that saw Aile's predicament, and sent her flying once again with a well-thrown uppercut. Aile recovered this time though, and swapped for the Hx-Armor to float over Fistleo's head for a short time, using the short reprieve to have a rapid conversation with her Biometals.

**Aile, I think we're in trouble.** Model X said as they drifted through the air. **He's got Model F's signature, but his own capabilities are so unlike Model F that it isn't natural.**

**He's different from the other pseudoroids, that much is certain. He's faster and stronger than we are.** Model Z supplied.

"We need a plan guys. Anyone?"

She and 3 Biometals turned to Model H.

**Well, obviously, melee combat is out of the question. Like it or not, none of us were designed for it with the possible exception of Model F. If we get too close to him, he'll grab and/or pummel us. And by the look of it, ranged plasma weapons don't do enough damage to him. We need a beam weapon of some kind to get past his guard.**

**Sounds right, but Aile can't afford to get in arms reach of him, which means a **_**long**_** beam weapon. **Model Z pointed out. **My saber isn't long enough, and H's rondels are even shorter.**

**She can use my halberd. **Model L finally spoke up. **It's got lots of reach, and my armor is second only to Model F's.**

"Don't you work best underwater?"

**Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't do battle on land. **Model L gave Aile the equivalent of a wink. **You'll be fine, trust me.**

"I haven't used Model Lx yet, so I don't know if this will work very well."

**If you have to, let L take over, since she knows how to use it.**

"Alright, I guess."

The moment Aile touched down, she flashed briefly, emerging in the Lx-Armor. The helmet featured drive units similar to H, only these were for underwater use. The armor was slightly bulkier than the other armors, since it was designed to withstand immense pressure, and would provide Aile with considerable defense against physical attacks like Fistleo's.

The armor's toughness was put to the test rather quickly, as Fistleo had anticipated where she would land and knocked her back with a straight punch to the chest. Fortunately, it had little effect, since L's shields were at full strength.

Aile seized a long metallic pole attached to her back and withdrew it, activating the double-ended halberd as she did. She twirled it experimentally, rather surprised at its near-perfect balance.

Fistleo charged at her again, but she swiped the long pole arm at him, forcing him to evade. She spun along with her slash, attempting to catch him across the back as he lanced past her, but he was too fast.

Model H grimaced mentally. **This is worse than I thought. According to my scans, Model F is located in his head. He'll protect it no matter what. I can't give you anything other than to deal as much damage to him as possible, but he seems too fast for that.**

**H is right. I've dealt with similar enemies. **Model Z added. **You'll have to try to predict where he'll move. If he's carried anything over from Model F, he may fall into a pattern you can exploit. Just be careful while you figure it out.**

"Okay."

**And no head-on stuff again, okay?**

Aile suppressed a smirk. "I'll try X, but I make no promises."

Fistleo charged again, giving Aile a convenient excuse to ignore X's sigh.

The Lx-Armor was a bit bulky, but it was designed for graceful underwater movement, so it had numerous stabilizers built into it to keep it operating like a second skin, much like the other Biometals. As such, Aile had little trouble using the dash thrusters to sidestep the lion pseudoroid, tripping him as he passed with the metallic shaft of the halberd. But Fistleo rolled and jumped upright as though it had been his plan all along. He outstretched his fist and a fireball shot towards her. Aile reflexively slashed at the fireball with her weapon, but she swung too late, since the halberd was much longer than the Zx-Saber. However, the fireball splashed against her shields, with little effect.

**Oh yea. The other guys are balanced so their armor resists energy attacks while their shields resist physical ones. My armor and shields, however, are more balanced, and can resist both, making them more multipurpose.**

"So, your defenses are stronger than the rest?"

**Even stronger than Model F, actually.** Model X clarified for her. **However, L is limited solely to her halberd as a weapon, so she's virtually useless at long range.**

Fistleo, growled as a flurry of plasma bolts hit him, courtesy of Maquereau and a dozen other soldiers firing their buster rifles at the flame pseudoroid. Aile used the distraction to dash at the pseudoroid, swinging her halberd in a broad arc. Fistleo dodged, but not before Aile scored a deep gash on his arm.

"Grr, you'll pay for that little girl."

Fistleo tensed, and to Aile's surprise, the gash was engulfed in orange/white energy. When the energy faded, the gash was gone.

**Auto-repair systems? No, it was too fast for that…** Model H scanned swiftly. **Aile! He's drawing energy from Model F to supercharge his systems! No wonder he's so fast! His auto-repair systems are empowered as well!**

"What!?" Aile paused to leap back from Fistleo's punch. "Does that mean I can't hurt him!?"

**It's worse than that Aile. Model F was never intended to be used in such a way. My scans indicate that Model F is losing energy at a phenomenal rate. If we don't defeat Fistleo soon, F will be completely drained. He won't die, but he'll be at a severe disadvantage if we have to use his power.**

"Hmm…" Aile thought for a bit as Fistleo threw another fireball at her, which she jumped over. "Okay, I have an idea, but you may not like it."

Model Z 'shrugged'. **As long as it will work, or won't hurt you too badly in the process, I'm all for it. Let's hear it.**

Between dodging Fistleo's various attacks and launching a few of her own, she laid down her idea, with mixed reactions. Z and L thought it was a great plan, while X and H thought the opposite. But they didn't have another plan in mind, so they decided to do it.

Aile triggered her comm. "Maquereau, listen up. I have an idea on how to beat this thing, but I need time for a distraction. Are you up to it?"

"Hell yea! What's the plan?"

She told him.

"Are you completely _insane_!?"

Had she not been embroiled in combat, she would have been tempted to face-palm. "Just get on it Maquereau. I'll distract him long enough for you to get everything ready."

"Fine, fine. Prairie is not going to like it though."

"Tell her that she's welcome to come up with a better idea. Until then, this is the plan. So get ready for the first part…"

* * *

Fistleo barked in surprise as Maquereau and nearly half the Guardian soldiers opened fire on him with everything they had. Unfortunately, all they had were buster rifles, so they didn't deal immense damage. However, they achieved their intended purpose: Distracting Fistleo completely away from Aile.

Aile shot towards him with the Hx-Armor and grabbed him, and then she shot skywards with the boosters, still somehow carrying the massive pseudoroid.

The surprise was total. Fistleo had no idea how to react at first. By the time he decided to do something, Aile had exhausted the Hx-boosters. But before she dropped away from him, she stabbed him repeatedly.

They both fell to the ground. Fistleo ignored the stabs she'd given him, in favor of grabbing Aile's halberd, which she'd just swung at him after swapping for the Lx-Armor.

Fistleo growled at her, his face a few feet from hers. "I find it hard to believe that such a weak little girl got chosen by the Biometals. Model X must not have very high standards."

Aile pulled sharply on the halberd. "Who are you calling weak!?"

Model X stiffened. **Excuse me? I have fine standards, thank you very much.**

Fistleo pulled back, causing a vague sort of tug-of-war over the halberd. "I can't see why the mavericks chose you at all."

"W-what?" Aile nearly lost her grip on the weapon. "What are you talking about?"

Fistleo smirked. "Isn't it obvious? Only a select few are capable of wielding Biometals. The mavericks are looking for the perfect vessel for Model W. And since you're a Chosen One, you have the potential. That's why they let you live."

Aile said nothing. However, she could feel the Biometals bristling in her head. They felt pissed.

Fistleo continued. "So go on, prove to me that you are worthy of Model W! If you can't even defeat me, then you aren't worthy of such an honor."

Aile was torn. Was Fistleo telling the truth? Was that what this entire thing was all about? Finding a vessel for Model W?

**And did you think that we would just stand aside and let Model W use Aile for its own ends!? I am her Biomatch, and I will personally die a thousand deaths before I allow such a thing to happen!**

"Model X…"

**Don't yield Aile. Prove yourself mightier than the foe that lies before you. Then, if what he says is true, prove yourself mighty enough to deny Model W its vessel.**

"…Alright. I will. Thanks Z."

**Hey, I swore I'd protect you. How can I do that if I keep all of my motivational speeches to myself?**

Aile laughed lightly. They weren't living, but the Biometals were such good friends.

"But in this case guys, I won't actually be winning this one."

Fistleo blinked at her, just as she changed to the Hx-Armor, the halberd vanishing as she did. Fistleo slipped, and Aile hammered him rapidly with Model H's electrical attack, temporarily stunning him. "NOW!!"

Fistleo heard something flying at him, and dove out of the way. Or…he tried to.

Too late did he realize that when Aile had stabbed him madly with the Hx-Rondels earlier, she'd been aiming mostly at his legs. With the addition of the electrical attack, he was unable to move or defend himself.

And just before Fistleo vanished in the ensuing explosion, he dumbly realized that it was too late to do anything about it.

* * *

"Now _that_ was fun."

Cedre waved smoke away from her massive rocket launcher. Around her, the Guardian soldiers wore expressions that bordered between fearful of Cedre, and satisfied at the destruction of Fistleo.

Aile headed over, and Cedre dropped her still-smoking launcher in favor of hugging Aile. "That was _awesome_! I never get to blow anything up! Thanks!"

Cedre was thankful that Aile had managed to get her out of the armory to actually blow something up, but she naturally didn't notice that her bone-cracking hug was about to very much succeed in cracking something Aile really needed, even through the Hx-Armor.

Fortunately, Cedre released her, since something had appeared out of the smoking area where Fistleo had been.

It wasn't Fistleo. It was a Biometal. An orange and white Biometal that appeared to be shaking madly.

**Wohoo! That was **_**awesome**_**! Next time, let me watch, okay?**

Aile blinked. "Uh, hi? You're Model F, right?"

**In the flesh! Well, sorta, but that's not the point! And yea, I'm Model F, the Biometal of Flame! Nice to meetcha!**

If Model H was the stiff, stable one, Model F had to be the outspoken, wild one.

"Well, uh."

Model F rapidly floated over to her and lightly knocked her on the head. **Let's get a move on already! Who do we take down next, huh?**

"But, I haven't even explained anything yet."

He bumped her on the head again. **So? I know that Serpent's up to something with Model W, and it could be bad, and so on. I never cared about it much. All I do care about is that he used my power to do his dirty work, and that pisses me off. So if you're out for payback, then I'm your model! **He gave the impression of leering angrily. **Got a problem with that?**

"Well, no…"

**Then it's settled! Hah! **F proclaimed loudly. **Let's get a move on! I still need the other half of my power to give you my password, but I can still kick ass!**

Just like before, when they'd encountered Models H and L, X sighed loudly, and Z laughed.

**I guess some things really don't change. H is still a tightwad, L's still herself, and F's still unstable. Hey X, 10 energy crystals says Model P is still the strong silent type.**

X sighed, mostly because Z and H started arguing again, while L and F looked on and laughed.

**Why me?**

* * *

AN: Some things that need clarification here. First of which is Model L. In the game, the Lx-Armor is virtually useless except for underwater combat. I decided to level the playing field for it a bit. Since Lx features very little in the way of energy-based weapons short of ice attacks, I decided that she would have something that the rest don't. In this case, she has the most powerful and most well-balanced armor and shields to make up for her limited attack abilities.

As for Aile's headband, that requires some backstory. When I first thought of a story idea to write about, my story consisted of a MMZX/MMBN crossover, where Aile and Vent somehow end up in BN's 20XX. In order to blend in, they dress much like Lan does in BN, including a headband with the Guardian logo on it as their symbol. That idea is no longer around, but for some reason, the headband stuck around. I'm not sure why, but whatever. Aile's attire now includes the aforementioned headband.

Finally, I base the difficulty of each pseudoroid on how difficult they were for me to beat in the game. Fistleo was immensely hard to beat on hard mode with a perfect score (Meaning without hitting the weakpoint). However, I had trouble deciding how to make it difficult for Aile, and ultimately decided to have her not be the one to deliver the finishing blow. That blow went to Cedre, who I decided to be nice to and let out of the armory for once.


	14. The Park is Mine

I feel I must apologize. It's been more than a month since I last updated. My job's work hours got out of hand due to a general lack of personell, and coupled with school, I was so out of it that I could barely think about this at all. And since I didn't even have an idea for this particular chapter, I was sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I'm extremely sorry.

However, I have aquired a reprieve of sorts. The people I work for have hired more people, so I have more time to myself. Added to the fact that I recently finished one of my classes, and I now have time to work again. Now that I've finished this chapter, I should be able to get to work once again, since I have the general floorplan of the next few chapters laid out already.

Another reason this chapter took so long is because I had to project an emotional persona onto Aile for a bit, and I'm not a particularly emotional person. Hopefully, I pulled it off.

And finally, bonus points to whoever recognizes what the title of this chapter is from.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Fourteen

The Park is Mine

* * *

"GET HIM!!"

**AAAHHH!!**

Model F flew at breakneck speed down the hall, pursued by Model L, Model H, some of the cyber elves, and nearly every female on board Guardian HQ, some clad in little more than bathrobes.

Everyone else, aside from staring, wondered vaguely what was going on.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight…" Prairie leaned back in the command chair. "Model F used his ability to look through walls to spy on everyone here, some in more indiscreet situations than others?" Everyone present nodded. Prairie nodded back. "Okay. And after that, you all felt it prudent to chase him around the airship?"

**Well, it's in the female psyche to lynch perverted idiots.** Model L spoke up. **And I forgot to mention that Model F is, well, the epitome of such behavior.** She gestured rather pointedly at the bathrobe-clad girls in the group.

"Plus, you'd probably have joined up with us if you'd caught him spying on _you_, Prairie." Gardenia added.

Prairie looked thoughtful as she considered the situation, but she was secretly trying not to laugh.

"Okay, first off, you should all get dressed properly. I'll deal with Model F."

The posse slowly filed out, but not before casting a death-inducing gaze at Model F, held firmly between Models H and L.

"As for you…" Prairie was not built for leering, but she managed a passable glare at the orange Biometal. "Analysis. And tell Fleuve not to hold back like he did with Model H."

Seeing Model H flinch was F's only warning. Then he was gone, hustled out the door by a chuckling Model L and a couple of cyber elves who seemed to be immensely amused by the whole ordeal.

"Model H?" The Biometal turned to regard Prairie. "Where was Aile in all this?"

Model H was silent for a moment. **She went to Area A with Models X and Z, shortly after Muguet and Rose decided she could move around. Several hours ago, actually.**

"Why?"

* * *

SLICE, SLICE

Aile observed the cuts made in the rock, and nodded approvingly. "That should do it. What do you thing Model Z?"

**I think it's perfect.**

Aile unmerged, and X and Z floated next to her to behold her work.

It was a tall, somewhat flat stone that Aile had found nearby. She'd cut it to an appropriate shape, forced it upright, and carved words into it.

_Girouette_

_2405-2432_

_Beloved friend and foster father_

_Missed, but never forgotten_

Aile gazed at the object she held in her hand: A pair of Giro's favorite glasses. Since his body had vanished, she could only bury these in honor of him.

Only, she found she couldn't yet. He'd entrusted his mission to her, and she couldn't lay him to rest until that mission was finished.

"I'll be back someday." Aile promised, half to herself, and half to her absent mentor as she pocketed the glasses.

There was a beeping in her pocket, and Aile frowned as she fished out her phone. "Hello?"

"Aile? It's Prairie. Listen, we've picked up the fourth Biometal signature. Model H says it's Model P."

"Alright, I'll be back in a moment."

"No, you're close to it right there Aile, it's…" Aile heard Prairie sigh. "There's no easy way to say this Aile. The Pseudoroid is in Area H."

* * *

_Screaming. Everyone screaming._

_Mavericks shooting at anything that moved._

_Blood. It was everywhere, no matter where she looked._

_"Mom, hold on! You'll be okay!"_

_"…"_

_"MOM!!"_

* * *

"Aile? Are you still there?"

Aile shook her head and, with some effort, pulled herself together. "Yes, I'm alright."

"I'm sorry Aile. I know what happened there. I suspect Serpent put the Pseudoroid there for that exact reason."

Aile clenched her jaw. "I'm stronger than that Prairie. I'll be alright."

"Okay… I've sent the other Biometals ahead. They'll meet you at the entrance to Area H."

Aile nodded absently and turned the device off.

**Aile?**

"…Yes X?"

The Biometal sounded hesitant. **May I ask what happened in Area H?**

Aile didn't move for a second. She'd brought Model Z since he knew the significance of this place, but X didn't know. Finally, she smiled bitterly. "Why? It's all over there."

She pointed, then turned and left.

Model X looked where she pointed, issued a low gasp, and hurried after Aile.

They'd set up Giro's monument on one side of a tall, ancient oak tree. On the other side of the trunk was another monument.

_Fae_

_2398-2422_

_Beloved friend and mother_

_Missed, but never forgotten_

* * *

A trio of galleon hunters stood on the threshold between Area A and Area H. They had one specific purpose, and that was it. They knew it, but they didn't care. They only carried the barest of programming in their systems.

So when Aile cut them apart with her saber and proceeded to Area H, they felt a small feeling, almost like satisfaction, as they died to complete their mission.

* * *

Pandora nodded. "The taskforce has…perished…She has entered Area H."

Her brother smirked. "Alright, finally. Let's get to it then. Launch the ships."

She nodded and turned back to the console, while Prometheus curled his lip in anticipation. _Soon, girl. Soon, I'll have the chance to see if you're capable of what he says you are. Don't disappoint me._

* * *

Aile froze as she entered the amusement park. Following the maverick attack ten years ago, the park had simply been abandoned, and it had stayed abandoned for that long. The long decade had not been kind to the park, and many of the rides were broken and disfigured. Since they were still connected to the power grid of Area A nearby, and nobody was brave enough to venture here and remove that connection, some of the rides still ran. A ferris wheel spun slowly overhead, and some other attractions moved and spun in their own way.

It was eerily quiet. That was almost an immediate sign that not all was as it should be. Amusement parks are, by definition, loud and chaotic places. The silence, even disturbed by creaking metal, was unnatural.

**What happened here?** Model L almost whispered.

"Mavericks, unfortunately." Aile's voice was strained. She had too many memories of this place, and not many of them were pleasant.

**How do you know?**

Aile looked around for a moment, then pointed at the feris wheel overhead. One of the seats was completely demolished, as if it had been ripped off. The claw marks in the framework went a long way towards identifying exactly _what_ had done such a thing.

Model L gazed at the evidence sadly. **I see…**

Aile strode past the ruined ride. "Let's go."

* * *

They encountered mavericks soon enough. Aile carved a path through them, but her heart wasn't really in it. Her mind was elsewhere, even as her body destroyed mavericks with an eerie calmness.

It was starting to worry the other Biometals, and Model Z finally got fed up with it.

**Aile, can I tell them the story? They'd probably be a bit more understanding if they knew what happened here.**

Aile grunted as she shattered a robotic dragonfly with relative ease, but she didn't object.

**Okay, let's see here…** Model Z mused for a second. **Okay, ten years ago was when this park was attacked by mavericks. Most of you know that already, I think. **Various nods answered him. **What you may not know is that it wasn't a little incident that Slither Inc. made it off to be. Slither was really trying to cover up the fact that they screwed up. The mavericks had made themselves seen over in Area F, and Slither's security force headed over there to deal with them, leaving this park completely undefended.**

"Then they had the gall to say they had done their job to the letter." Aile grated.

**Exactly. They covered the fact that they'd failed their duty at the time, and there was nobody there that could say otherwise.**

**Why though?** Model F asked. **If the people at the park noticed that Slither's force was gone, and they went and said that they were there the whole time, why didn't they speak out?**

"Because there weren't enough of them, and they were hardly in any condition to say anything." Aile took up the story. "This park is much bigger than it looks. There were seven_ thousand_ people here when the mavericks attacked." Aile paused. "There were only fourteen survivors, and nearly half of them died later because of their injuries."

The Biometals gasped.

"By the time the security force came back, the Guardians had already driven the Mavericks off and rescued the survivors. At the time, the Guardians were trying to keep themselves scarce, so they didn't interfere with Slither's defense force. Slither toned down what was probably a catastrophic event by lying about the number of survivors, and they paid a lot of people to testify that they were there. By the time the real survivors put themselves back together, Area H was old news. A scratch on the otherwise flawless slate that represented Slither's reputation, but bearable by the common people."

Aile halted the tale to remove an extremely large mettaur from her path, and the Biometals respectfully kept quiet until she'd finished.

**But how do you know so much about it?**

"Because I was here, Model H."

The Biometal resisted inhaling sharply. **Oh. I see.**

"No you don't. I was _here_." Aile walked up to a broken wall. "I was here, ten years ago, walking right here, when the attack began. I heard people shouting…screaming…"

Aile felt the tears in her eyes, but she pointed anyways, pointed right at a single shattered fragment of wall.

"I was standing right here when a plasma bolt hit my mother. It went right through her, and she collapsed."

The Biometals stared at her in shocked silence.

"Everyone was in a state of panic, and nobody would help." The tears were flowing freely now, but Aile made no effort to check them. She'd exhausted her anger at Slither, leaving nothing else but sorrow. A sorrow she'd kept well hidden for a decade. "I dragged my mother out of Area H before I realized she'd been dead before she hit the ground. Then Giro found me, and I… I…"

Aile finally couldn't continue, and simply collapsed to her knees, sobbing quietly, as a decade worth of memories suddenly resurfaced.

The Biometals, by some unspoken command, immediately clustered around her, as if to protect her from her own sorrow. Aile clung to them as she gave way to her feelings, and they, knowing nothing else to do, simply let her hold them.

* * *

Prairie paced impatiently around the bridge, even going so far as to ignore the cyber elves clustered around her. She was worried, and that made _them _worry. They liked Aile, so if she simply cut off contact for a moment, they were bound to worry.

Finally, the comm. crackled to life. "Prairie, I can't figure out where Model P is. Can you point me in the right direction?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the cyber elves all giggled at the way Prairie_ lunged_ for the comm.

"Aile, where have you been? You dropped off the sensors for a while. I thought we'd lost you or something."

"I was having a heart-to-heart with my Biometals, and didn't feel like having you listen in."

Prairie frowned. "Aile, are you alright? You don't sound like yourself."

Aile sighed. "Prairie, you know how I feel about this place. I'd rather not stay here any longer than I have to. Can I just finish this mission, and talk about it later?"

"Fine, fine. You're currently heading about north-northeast. Head due west, and you should spot a cluster of buildings concentrated around a stadium of some kind. The pseudoroid is in there somewhere."

"Thanks Prarie."

Without warning, the cyber elf Nuppie soared over. _"And if you need some cheering up, ask F to share his gripping tale about being chased through the HQ by scantily-clad women!"_

**Nuppie, you tattle-tale!**

Praire could almost hear Aile's blink of surprise. "I see. Thanks Nuppie, I'll have to ask about that. Come here F…" And with that, Aile cut the connection.

A spattering of laughter rolled across the bridge as the cyber elves recalled the incident earlier. Gardenia and Marguerite, who had unfortunately been among those Nuppie had mentioned, proceeded to glare at them.

Tulip unintentionally spoiled the moment by keeping an eye on her console, and noticing something out of the ordinary.

"Ma'am, radar's picked up something about 9000 km starboard, possibly aircraft of some kind. Unable to classify type or number."

Prairie checked it on her screen. "Hmm. Whatever they are, they're closing on us pretty fast. Too fast for casual study, I think. Signal the yellow alert, and get the weapon and defenses up and running. Let's not get caught off guard this time."

"Yes Ma'am!" They replied in unison.

Gardenia dashed off to get the bypass codes as Marguerite hit the loudspeaker. "Attention all hands: unidentified aircraft are approaching the HQ, intentions unknown. All defense forces stand by at Yellow Alert status. Repeat: We are at a Code Yellow. All defense forces arm and be ready."

Prairie absently waved the cyber elves away from one of the screens, and brought up the HQ's readiness diagnostic. "We'll need at least 12 minutes for full strength, and those craft will close in about five. Tulip, set course for Area Z, but make it look like we planned to go there anyways. Let's play for some time. If worse comes to worse, we can race there in about 36 minutes, then we can count on Guardian MB's anti-air batteries for assistance."

"On it Ma'am. I'll let the Main Base know we're coming."

* * *

Aile's response to Model F's extracurricular activities was, naturally, to chase after him and shoot him for five minutes or so. Models X and L had said they'd make sure to keep an eye on the lecherous Biometal, and Aile had reluctantly ceased her pursuit.

Now they were forging their way through what appeared to be a giant crane game, filled with life-sized dolls and toys that, occasionally, came to life and attacked her. She disposed of them with the Fx-Armor, which had elected a rather interesting conversation on how to use.

* * *

_"Is there anything about this armor I need to learn how to use like the others?"_

_**Like what? I punch and shoot to destroy anything that moves. How hard is it to do likewise?**_

* * *

True to his word, the Fx-Armor was unnaturally easy to use. It was much like the X-Armor, only with two guns instead of one. And if anything got to close, she punched at it, and the linear accelerators built into the Fx-Armor's Knuckle busters would all but pulverize it. The addition of a fire element simply emphasized the sheer destructive power of the armor.

Aile wasn't one for pure destruction, but she sort of liked the simplicity Model F was built for.

Her only disadvantage was that Model F was built to optimize his immensely thick armor, since Model F had likely been a very durable reploid in his previous life, whatever that may have been. However, Model F's shields were very low, and broke with relatively little force. And since the Fx-Armor didn't cover every single inch of Aile, her biological tissue was vulnerable to damage, particularly her head and the inside of her arms not protected by the durable knuckle busters. In addition, it was somewhat difficult to move around in due to the thick plate armor. The combination of low mobility and vulnerability made the Fx-Armor a kind of double-edged sword, probably to counter the fact that it had, in the words of Model F, 'more ammunition than God'.

She paused to swap for the Hx-Armor as she entered a floorless room filled with small blimps, and even smaller robotic dragonflies.

**Aile, as far as we can tell, Model P is just beyond this room. It's not much further.**

* * *

"I still can't get what they are, but they've spread out a bit. I estimate about 28 airships, and maybe one larger vessel. Distance is down to 6700 km." Marguerite reported.

"And how are we doing?"

Gardenia frowned. "Not so good I'm afraid. We haven't used these systems in years, and most of them are in varying levels of disrepair. We've got an energy screen designed to ward off low-level energy weapons, but that's about it for defenses. And nearly half of our available weapons are offline. We just simply don't have the reactor strength to power them all at once." The operator paused for a second. "We've still got a faint advantage though. Guardian HQ is more like a mobile fortress than an airship. We've got relatively thick armor, and the anti-gravity systems will keep us aloft even if they take out our engines. All we have to worry about is if they board us and take out the power plant."

"That's if they're hostile…" Prairie muttered.

Right about then, several things happened at once.

Tulip flinched heavily and nearly hurled her headset away as waves of static poured into it. "Jammers! Someone's jamming us again!" Tulip quickly tracked the source. "Prairie, it's the unknowns! They're the source of the jamming!"

Marguerite gasped at her console. "ID matches confirmed! 31 Type-III Battleships, and one Command Flagship, all registered to Slither Inc.!"

Prairie paled, even as she leapt for the comm. "All hands, Red Alert! Slither's air fleet is descending on us! Report to battlestations imme-"

"PRAIRIE!!" Gardenia practically screamed. "Incoming missles!"

"All hands, brace for impact!!"

The deck lurched as a flurry of missiles hammered into Guardian HQ.

* * *

Aile winced as a wave of static rolled through her helmet. "Ow, what is that?"

Model Z issued the foulest curse she'd ever heard. **We're being jammed, Aile! Just like in Area D!**

"Can we do anything about it?"

**Not right now. We'd get interference from the Pseudoroid using Model P if we tried to scrub the signal this close to it. We'll have to beat it first.**

"Right!"

Aile entered the room, Hx-Rondels in hand, but deactivated. She was in what appeared to be a child's playroom. There were monkey bars, stuffed animals in every corner, and other toys and doodads.

And directly in the center of the room was a purple, gorilla-like mechaniloid.

"Ook, Ook! A Maverick! Have you orders for me from Lord Serpent?"

Aile blinked. "You're the pseudoroid?"

The ape-like pseudoroid looked closely at her. "You're not a maverick…" It drew itself up. "Ook, Ook! You're trespassing! Get out of my park!"

Aile found that somewhat insulting. "_Your_ park? I'm the one with the memories here. You get out of _my_ park!" She activated her twin blades as she said it.

The pseudoroid hopped up and down in anger. "Ook! You're challenging me!? I am Purprill, an officer of Slither Inc.!"

"That has to be the dumbest name I've ever heard. I've heard a fair share of bad ones, but yours is the only one that had the looks to match it."

Model X coughed something, which sounded vaguely like 'Split Mushroom', but Aile didn't hear it because she was dodging the mines Purprill had tossed at her.

It was a very short fight, much to Aile's surprise. Purprill had two general attacks: throwing varying types of mines at her, and turning himself into a whirling disk and flying around trying to hit her. The Fx-Armor's knuckle busters doubled somewhat as shields, and none of the mines had the explosive force to get past them. Swapping to Model H when she saw the disk, she could evade him with relative ease. And finally, she swapped to the X or Zx-Armor to deliver a stopping blow with a fully-charged plasma burst. All she had to do was avoid hitting Purprill's arms, which contained Model P.

There were a couple of close calls, like when the pseudoroid had bounced sideways off the wall and nearly crushed her, but finally, the wrecked mechaniloid lay on the ground before her.

"Ook…ook…I'm…"

The light in his eyes faded, and Purprill exploded.

**What a fool. Drowning in his own power. An appropriate end.**

There floated a purple and black biometal with a kind of face mask. It looked approvingly at Aile.

**I am Model P, Biometal of the Shadows. And you, I take it, are the chosen of Master X.**

"I am."

Model P nodded, or rather bobbed up and down. **You have potential. His choice was well made. **

Aile blushed faintly as she unmerged. Her Biometals appeared in front of her, Model X in the center.

Model P delivered what appeared to be a formal bow. **Master X. I assume the time has come to become humanity's sword once again.**

X nodded sagely. **It has. Someone is trying to revive Model W. We will need all of our power to stop this threat. I, no, _we_ will require your aid once again.**

**Of course I will aid you. I see you can all merge with Master X, and I see no reason why I cannot as well. However, half of my data has been separated from me, and now inhabits another pseudoroid. Without that data, Model W cannot be reached.**

"Then we'll just have to find it and take it."

**Not yet.** Model P chastised her mildly. **We must first deal with the threat at hand.**

The others looked at him. Model P activated his communications systems, and a wave of static rolled through the air. **I assume you have not forgotten about this.**

Model F looked sheepish. **It, uh, kinda slipped our minds. We were busy with blowin up the pseudoroid and all…**

If Biometals could smirk, Model P was certainly trying. **It seems that some things truly don't change. But never fear, **He smoothly cut off Model F's indignant retort, **I can break through this interference with ease.**

Without warning, an explosion rang out from the adjoining room. Aile immediately engaged the X-Armor and ran in.

The room contained one thing: a transerver. Or, what was left of it. Someone had obviously rigged it to explode following Purprill's demise. Coupled with the jamming, Aile had no way of reaching Prairie and the others. But there was no reason to cut her off and ambush her if she'd been expected to defeat the Model P Pseudoroid. Unless…

**Exactly, child. **Model P expertly read her mind. **Severing of communications goes two ways. They have isolated you here, meaning they either intend to destroy you, or those you are in contact with. But since they seem to have counted on the pseudoroid's demise, I doubt it was you they were after. In other words…**

"Prairie!" Aile put it together. "The Guardians! They might be in trouble! Model P, can you get through the jamming quickly!?"

**Model L, you were always better at this sort of thing than I was. I will need your assistance. **

Models P and L put their heads together, and rapidly broke through the jamming. **Hurry Aile, we can't keep the line open for long.**

Aile took L's word for it. "Prairie! Are you there!?"

"A-Aile!? How did you-"

"Prairie, what's going on?"

"Ahh!" There was a sudden roar through the comm. line. "A-Aile, get back here, and _quickly_! We're under attack by Slither's air fleet, and I don't know if we can hold them much more. And please hurry!"

* * *

AN: I apologize if any of you were expecting a real climactic battle for this chapter. In all honesty, I'm saving up for the next chapter. And fans of the Zx series _know_ what the next chapter contains already, so use your imaginations. I guarantee that it may suprise you.


	15. Besieged

Once again, it takes me more than a month to get this chapter out. I'm sorry, but with planning fall classes and getting college stuff set up, I've been kinda busy. Once again though, don't count me out of the running. Regardless of my bad update schedule lately, I fully intend to finish this. Granted, I keep getting sidetracked by other ideas cropping up in my head (see possible next stories in my profile), but I'd like to finish this story before moving on to another one. I have enough problems focusing on singular things as it is.

Speaking of, I was up to about seven thousand words before I realized that it was a bit too long, so I've already got most of the next chapter written already. Barring any unforeseen circumstances (-cough- _homework_) I should have it up in the next few days.

As I write this, my last chapter (14) has a grand total of (count it) _one measly review_, courtesy of Tamakaro Makezai (Thanks for the review, BTW). To be honest, I'm not picky enough to demand a certain number of reviews before I update like some authors, but it would be nice if all the people that _faved my story and didn't leave reviews_ went and told me _why_ they liked my story enough to fave it.

And to those of you who leave me reviews, thanks for the support. Hopefully, I haven't lost any of you by delaying this update for so long.

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Fifteen

Besieged

* * *

Had she been paying attention, Aile might have realized that she set every single speed record possible as she dashed and ran towards the transerver in Area A, the closest transerver to her. She didn't even slow down for mavericks; she simply jumped over them, past them, and in some cases, _through_ them as she tore across Area H and into Area A at breakneck speeds.

* * *

"Damage check!" Prairie yelled as warning sirens blared. "That hit was aft, check the engines!"

"Prairie, primary drives three and four are down," Gardenia reported, "along with aux. thrusters 6 through 9, and a fair number of maneuvering thrusters as well. We've lost nearly 40 percent of our forward thrust capability, and nearly 10 percent of our maneuvering ability. They're trying to slow us down."

Marguerite grimaced. "Well, it's working. Speed's dropped by half, at least. At this rate, it'll take us more than half an hour to reach the Main Base, and that's if they _don't_ take out any more of our drive power."

Prairie narrowed her eyes. "They're still on our starboard side. Are they in range of our weapons yet?"

"We don't have any missile launchers of our own, but they are in range of our plasma weapons, and they'll be soon entering our heavy ballistic cannons' firing envelope. Not to mention all of our other lighter weapons, which can go considerably further." Tulip calmly reported.

"Let's let them know just what they're up against. Target all the guns and fire a full barrage on my mark."

Gardenia gave an uncharacteristic smirk. "Yes ma'am. All gun crews, pick targets and standby for fire command.

* * *

Guardian HQ was home to many combatants, but the bulk of the mobile base's crew were scientists, medical staff, and specialists in other, largely non-militant fields. As the auto-targeting systems of some of the older cannons were unreliable at best, many of these noncombatants now manned the guns' manual targeting controls.

Moure, an eccentric but well-meaning soldier, was in charge of the starboard weapons, and he threw a hefty salute at the monitor. "You got it, dudette! Ok, guys, let's show them what we've got!"

There was immediately a cacophony of noise as nearly half the people tripped over each other as they rushed to their stations. Computers hummed and gears groaned as the old, but lethal cannons cast their sights on the distant ships.

Within a moment, every gun on the right side of Guardian HQ was pointed right at one of Slither Inc.'s airships.

Moure threw another salute. "All guns sighted! We're ready to shoot!"

* * *

Gardenia turned. "Prairie, the starboard battery is ready to fire."

"I've got it." Prairie flipped the comm. line open. "Starboard battery, open fire!"

The entire HQ rocked with the recoil.

* * *

Aile paused as she heard a distant rumble, much like thunder, but more sporadic. "What is that?"

**Very large, but very distant explosions. It sounds very much like a disrupted warship power reactor. Several of them, in fact.** Model P reported.

Model Z smirked. **Sounds like Serpent's air fleet is finding the HQ a bit harder to swallow than expected.**

"That's good, it means Prairie and the others are still fighting. And we're almost there, too." Aile paused as she wove through the mavericks in front of her with the new Px-Armor and its incredible maneuverability. "The transerver should be up ahead somewhere."

* * *

"Damn."

Prometheus watched as another ship vomited flames across the sky as it died. They'd lost three ships from the Guardian's initial attack, and two more had been badly damaged in the ten minutes soon after that.

It wasn't that Guardian HQ had better weapons, but it certainly had _more _of them, even if it couldn't fire them all. For every gun that his ships destroyed, an inactive one would come online and vengefully target the assailant craft, and his latest ship had wiped out five heavy plasma cannons at once only to be on the receiving end of five fresh cannons and their fire.

Even if it couldn't use all of its firepower, it was far better armed and armored than what had been expected.

And to make matters worse, they'd gotten word from the ground forces assaulting the Guardian Main Base. Apparently, it was even better defended than the HQ, and boasted far, far more ground turrets than anticipated. And their commander was no fool; he knew full well how to minimize his own casualties. The ground assault hadn't simply been repelled, it had been _routed_: less than a quarter of the ground force remained intact. And the base was virtually unscathed.

Which meant that if the HQ could limp into the protective envelope of the base's anti-air defenses, then the air fleet would have no choice but to pull back, or risk facing off with the Base's considerable anti-air power. And even with all of its primary engines down, the Guardian airship was still using backup thrusters, maneuvering thrusters, even modified exhaust vents to keep it moving slowly, but steadily, towards the safety of the Main Base.

"The transerver in Area A has connected to Area X. She's there…"

Prometheus grinned as Pandora spoke the words he'd been waiting to hear. "Perfect. Tell the fleet to begin phase two. And we should probably get going as well."

"Understood…"

* * *

Aile was running the instant she finished transferring. She all but burst onto the bridge, badly startling Prairie in the process. "I'm back! Where's the enemy fleet?"

Prairie composed herself rapidly, ignoring the occasional rumbling in the ship's hull. "They're right on top of us Aile, and that's not good. Guardian HQ is built like a fortress, but it wasn't designed for heavy combat like this. We've got enough armor and weapons to hold us until we reach safe airspace, but we don't have any internal defenses whatsoever. If they board us, we'd be hard pressed to push them back and deal with the fleet at the same time. The sole advantage we have is that the only place they can board us without the ship's armor interfering is the deck access on top of the ship, and we can target some of the ascending craft with our heavy topside cannons."

As if to spite her, the operator Marguerite turned. "Ma'am, the broadside battleships are ascending! They're closing on us!"

"Counter-gravity control, raise our altitude as fast as you can. Port and starboard batteries, concentrate fire on the ascending craft! Don't waste any shots; focus on damaged craft and take them out first! Every downed ship is less troops trying to board us." Prairie turned to Aile. "Aile, find Bar on the 4th floor, and get some soldiers together. I want you to get topside and stop anyone trying to board us. We're about 25 minutes out from safe airspace, so you only have to hold them off for that long. Now get going!"

Aile dashed off, and the bridge door closed behind her.

Prairie turned back to her console. "Now let's see if we can't make her job any easier. Topside battery, be ready for targets coming up to port and starboard. Target the ships closest to us first, but don't target them if they could damage us while falling or exploding."

* * *

As Aile burst out onto the ship's deck, she could clearly see the mass of enemy battleships swarming around them. Guardian HQ dwarfed the smaller battleships, but their numbers more than made up for the difference in size.

The ship-board comm. spoke. "Attention upper deck. A battleship has cleared the topside battery. Stand by to repel boarders."

"Bar! I want you and your soldiers to block the entrance to the ship! I'll deal with the bulk of the enemy, and you deal with whatever I miss."

Bar nodded, and he and the eight soldiers they'd scrounged together moved to block off the opening that led below.

Aile headed further onto the deck as a shadow fell across the HQ. The battleship had taken severe damage from the topside batteries, and was trailing smoke, atmosphere, and vaporized armor as it passed overhead. It only passed once, but as it did, several dots appeared beneath it. The dots slowly grew until they were recognizable as Galleon Wings, Galleons equipped with jet-packs and more powerful cannons.

Aile attacked with everything in her arsenal, including charged shots from the X and Zx busters, the heavy fire of the Fx-Armor's twin knuckle busters, and slim kunai that pierced armor and fuel tanks courtesy of the new Px-Armor. Fortunately for Aile, Guardian HQ's lack of primary engine power made it rather slow, and thus kept Aile from being affected too badly by wind resistance. She could dodge and evade without worrying about the wind blowing her over the side.

Only the enemy kept coming. As they got closer and closer, Aile was forced repeatedly to swap for the Zx-Saber and cut them apart. Even with minimal wind resistance, Aile didn't dare risk flying up and attacking them head-on with the Hx-Armor. That would be both risky and useless; they'd just drop past her.

Finally, the ship passed completely over the HQ, and the rain of enemies dwindled. But just as Bar and his taskforce let out a ragged cheer, the ship's comm. sputtered to life again.

"Portside cannons, engage the enemy ship closing on us, quickly!"

The enemy command ship had given them the slip. As the Guardians had focused on the enemies overhead, it had snuck just underneath the HQ's arc of fire, and had suddenly risen right next to the HQ. And as it was currently tilted _towards_ them, its intentions were drastically clear.

"No good! All hands, _brace for impact_!!"

Guardian HQ shuddered like a thing possessed as the enemy command ship rammed the HQ's port side with terrible force.

* * *

As the two siblings headed into the ship with their maverick forces through the breached hull, a shadow detached from the walls and followed them.

_Time to see if I was right or not._

* * *

Prairie picked herself off the floor following the ramming. "S-status!"

Tulip had somehow remained in her chair. "There are severe breaches in the armor along the port side. The port weapons control room was unharmed, but there are several openings near the bottom of the ship. And I'm picking up movement near the breaches. Ma'am, I believe they may be boarding us through the broken hull."

"What!? They've broken through!? Tell the soldiers to engage the enemy, and repel them from the reactor room at all costs! We're three minutes from safe airspace, and we are _not_ going to lose now!"

Gardenia nodded shakily as she pulled herself back into her chair and activated the ship's comm. "All hands, listen up! The enemy has broken through our portside armor, and is now boarding us through the breaches! All soldiers are to repel the enemies however possible! Don't let them get to the reactor!" She flipped off the comm. and turned. "Marguerite, see if we can't- _Marguerite_!"

The operator had been flung head-first into her console by the impact, and now lay on the floor in a crumpled heap.

Gardenia flung off her headset and rushed to check on her just as Prairie leapt over her own console to help. "Marguerite, are you alright!? Wake up!!"

Prairie checked the operator's vital signs. "She's alright, just unconscious. She might have a concussion though, but she should be fine. Here, help me carry her. Tulip, take over!"

Leaving Tulip to deal with everything for a moment, Gardenia and Prairie carried the downed operator into Prairie's room (which was just off the bridge) and laid her down on the bed, trusting the cyber elves in Prairie's room to keep an eye on her.

"Prairie!" Tulip yelled as the two raced back to the bridge. "The enemy is coming towards us!"

Before Prairie could even ask what she meant, the bridge doors hissed open to admit a small group of Guardian soldiers. Before the doors shut, a plasma bolt shot through, injuring one soldier.

"Seal the doors!" The soldiers yelled, and Tulip swiftly complied. The doors clicked as they locked, then started to spark violently as the enemies on the other side attempted to force them open.

"Those won't hold forever." A soldier that Prairie recognized as Maquereau remarked calmly. "But we can catch a quick breather before they get through. Any ideas Prairie?"

Marguerite was hurt. Their ship was hurt. The soldiers were hurt, but they were still willing to keep fighting. And Prairie finally grimaced as she realized that she _did _have an idea, just not one that her soldiers would either agree with or believe.

Ever since she and her Guardian escort had been ambushed in Area A, Prairie had taken to carrying a small pouch on her belt. And as the doors began to buckle, she opened it, realizing sadly that she would have to use what rested within.

The doors burst, and the galleon hunters beyond it raised their weapons.

* * *

_The desert stretched as far as the eye could see. Miles and miles of sand and nothing but. One could see people, reploids, or mechaniloids coming from an incredible distance._

_Two figures stood in the desert, facing each other. Given their stances, they were having some sort of argument._

_"Do I have to?" The first figure, a small girl with blonde hair and startling blue eyes, asked sadly._

_The other figure, a tall man clad in red armor with oddly long blonde hair, did not alter his neutral expression. "I know you want to be a scientist like Ciel, but that is no excuse not to learn something that might save your life later."_

_"But I hate fighting!"_

_The armored man knelt down and looked her in the eye. "Nobody really likes fighting Alouette. Not even me. But in order to protect myself, Ciel, the Resistance, and you, I have to fight. In fact, the main reason I fight is so that you and Ciel don't have to. But I can't always come out of the blue and save you, just like I can't do it for Ciel."_

_Alouette glared sharply at him. "But you didn't force Sis to learn to fight!"_

_"That's because she is the de facto leader of the Resistance. The soldiers here may not be as capable as I am, but I can trust them to keep her safe. She's as much a hero to them as I am." He paused for a moment. "Plus, she's human. And while I'm sure she could learn to fight directly, I don't want to put her through that. And I'm pretty sure you don't want to either."_

_He finally dropped his gaze, and Alouette couldn't help but notice the worry that crossed his face._

_"I'm a warrior Alouette. I may not be human, but I have instincts. And those instincts tell me that something bad is going to happen soon. Something I might not survive."_

_Her eyes widened in shock, but he cut off her reply with a wave. "Please don't tell Ciel I said that. After all, it might even be wrong. Gods know, I've been wrong before. But if I'm right, and this coming battle ends up being my last, I want to know that Ciel has someone looking out for her. Someone she can count on, without question. I want that someone to be you, Alouette. Next to Cerveau and Colbor, you're the only one I would trust with Ciel's safety, and the only person she trusts even more than me. I want to know that you can help her if the situation calls for it."_

_He looked into her eyes again, and she saw something in them, something like pain, and Alouette realized how much it hurt him to have to ask this of her._

"…_Alright. I'll do it. But I won't fight unless I have no other choice, or if Sis or the others are in danger."_

_He gave her a faint smile. "That's all I ask."_

_He stood abruptly. "Now, do you remember the new weapon Cerveau designed for me? The 'Z-Knuckle'?"_

_She nodded. "Well, as it turns out, it requires one of the synchronization chips he recovered from my old data. Problem is, one of them was destroyed, and he's put the other in the Z-Knuckle. Which means that my Chain Rod, Triple Rod, Recoil Rods, and the Shield Boomerang are no longer compatible with my systems."_

_He pulled out two small handheld cylinders. "I'm going to let you have these."_

_Her eyes widened until they resembled blue saucers, and she held the weapons reverently as he handed them to her._

"_Use them only when it comes down to the wire. Use them only when there is no choice but their lives or your life and the lives of those you care for. I will teach you to use these, my Recoil Rods, to protect yourself and others."_

* * *

The element of surprise was complete, so much that nobody on either side began firing for a few seconds. They were too busy staring in shock and awe.

Prairie dashed past the Guardian soldiers in a blur, and cut deep into the ranks of galleon hunters, a pair of green, tonfa-like energy blades in her hands.

Neither Guardian soldiers nor mavericks knew that Prairie of the Guardians was once Alouette of the Resistance, a close-knit band of freedom fighters from two centuries in the past. And even the Resistance didn't know that Alouette was the inheritor of the Recoil Rods, or that she had been taught in their usage by one of the greatest warriors that ever lived.

There were maybe 26 galleons clustered in the doorway, but Prairie cut right through their center, easily dropping at least ten of them. She immediately dove behind the broken doorway for cover, and the Guardian soldiers realized that she'd given them the signal to open fire. Prairie's rush had destroyed the mavericks' balance, and they milled about in confusion as their simplistic programming tried to determine which targets to engage.

Between the soldiers' rifles and Prairie's blades, the Guardians destroyed the mavericks without suffering a single casualty, Prairie herself dramatically beheading the last two with her blades. Then, she proceeded to rapidly issue orders.

"Tulip, you're in charge until this is over. You soldiers, keep the bridge clear of enemies. Hmm, Maquereau, you'll do. Follow me; we're going to keep the reactor room safe until this is over."

Without even waiting for a response, the Guardian Commander dashed for the elevator, recoil rods still ignited, and Maquereau followed after her with a bemused look on his face.

* * *

"All hands, listen up! The enemy has broken through our portside armor, and is now boarding us through the breaches! All soldiers are to repel the enemies however possible! Don't let them get to the reactor!"

Aile turned to dash inside, but Bar called to her, pointing skyward as he did.

Overhead, the battleship was coming to make another pass.

Aile was stuck. She couldn't stay here on the deck with boarders already inside the ship. But if she left, she could very well condemn Bar and his team, not to mention leave the upper deck open to boarders.

"Take _this_!"

A rocket arced skyward towards the battleship and scored a direct hit on its already damaged engines. With a roar, the engines exploded, and the badly damaged ship veered away as it dramatically lost altitude.

"That's what you get for messing with us!" Cedre yelled at the dying warship as she reloaded her rocket launcher. She'd somehow stationed herself on top of the opening that led into the ship, and was eyeing the next closest ship with an evil look.

Bar looked shocked. "C-Cedre!? What are you doing up here!?"

"Saving your asses, that's what!" The wild Guardian threw Aile a cocky salute. "Aile, my launcher is no good in confined spaces. Go clear them out; I'll take care of thing up here!" And with a laugh, she launched another rocket, and somehow managed to hit a battleship directly on its forward magazine despite the distance. The ship literally _exploded_ into a conflagration of ruined metal. "Go on Aile! I got this!"

"Thanks Cedre!" Thankful for the answer to her dilemma, Aile dashed inside, giving Bar and his team a hasty thumbs up.

The inside of the ship was thick with galleons, but they wilted under the multitude of weapons Aile unleashed on them. Aile now had her hands on every Biometal except Model W (Which she wasn't planning on acquiring at all), and even though they weren't at their full power, they still had an immeasurable amount of firepower at their disposal.

A band of Guardian soldiers guarding the bridge helped Aile clear the way as she made her way to the command room, where she noticed that a certain someone was absent.

"Where's Prairie?"

* * *

"Hey you! Back away from the reactor!"

Maquereau leveled his rifle and fired a couple of warning shots at the two reploids, but one of them, a female in green and white armor, raised her staff and casually deflected the attack.

The other reploid, a male clad in purple and grey armor, sneered. "Think what you will, but I'm not here for you."

The door to the reactor hissed open, revealing Aile as she dashed in. "Prairie, are you…al…right?" She paused as she took in Prairie's still-ignited beam tonfas, which the Guardian commander held loosely, but professionally. She blinked, and then noticed the two reploids on the other side of the room. "You! You two were with Serpent in Area D!"

The purple-clad reploid smirked. "Hey, you remembered us. I'm touched. Really." He set the haft of his unlit beam scythe on the ground and casually leaned on it. "Actually, I'm glad you're here. You've got Model Z, right?"

Aile shifted to the Zx-Armor in response.

"Great! Your name is Aile, right? You can call me Prometheus, and this is Pandora." He gestured at the green and white armored girl next to him, who nodded faintly.

"You see, before you showed up in Area D, your friend Giro and I were having a duel. Only problem is, Serpent decided to interfere and take Giro out, which is right about when you showed up. Meaning that Model Z and I never finished our duel. And since we're both here…" He let the sentence hang.

Aile gaped at him. "You mean to tell me that you attacked the HQ just to finish a fight!?"

"Not really. The main reason we attacked the HQ was to wipe out the Guardians." He ignored Aile's sharp inhale. "But since you were here anyways, I figured I could finish my fight with Model Z and polish off the Guardians as an encore. Two birds with one stone, as it were."

**But why destroy the Guardians if your fight is with me?**

Prometheus paused, then grinned. "Well, to be honest, Serpent's scared of Aile. And since his beloved Pseudoroids couldn't take you out, he's opting for a psychological approach."

"He wants to imbalance Aile by killing her friends, doesn't he?"

Prometheus bowed to Prairie. "Very astute of you, Miss Guardian Commander. Yes, that was Serpent's plan. 'Without a shoulder to lean on, Aile sort of collapses mentally, making her easy prey for the mavericks', or something like that. Not exactly my favorite method of attack, but hey, he's the boss."

Without warning, Gardenia's voice came over the ship's comm. "All hands, we have crossed into safe airspace. Standby to begin damage checks."

Pandora nodded. "Alright…I'll wait back…at the ship…be careful…" And with that, Pandora teleported away.

"Alright then, here's the deal Aile. In maybe 15 minutes, the HQ will be over the Guardian's main base. We attacked it earlier, but the attack was repelled. But I can still destroy both the base and the HQ by destroying the reactor and dropping the HQ on the base, or something to that effect. And I will too, unless you and Model Z fight and win against me."

Prometheus ignited his scythe and pointed it at the transporter. "In other words, I challenge you to single combat, winner takes all."

Silence reigned, with only the gently humming of the reactors in the background.

Finally, Aile ignited the Zx-Saber.

"I accept the challenge…and the conditions."

* * *

AN: Once again, I leave you with a cliffhanger, only this one is far more obvious.

I got an odd brainstorm about giving Prairie a weapon, and decided on the Recoil Rods, since I have other plans for the Shield Boomerang, Chain Rod, and Triple Rod. And since even the strong, silent, Zero-era Zero cares about his friends to a point, I decided to include that little scene between him and Alouette.


	16. Destruction Incarnate

This took longer than I thought it would, mostly because I had trouble fixing some of the wording here and there. I look at it now, and I still think something's out of place, only I can't figure out what.

Of course, I could just be overanalyzing it as well, so who knows.

On an alternate note, I'd like to respond to a review from my last chapter, where someone mentioned that the desert scene between Zero and Alouette wasn't entirely in character for Zero.

My personal belief is that somewhere between MMZ2 and MMZ3, Zero recovers all of his lost memories, and gains back a bit of his former personality. And while Zero isn't the type to wear his emotions in public, between him and someone he cares about he's probably going to show a bit more caring, empathic personality, especially around Ciel and Alouette.

I think that's all. Enjoy the chapter.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Sixteen

Destruction Incarnate

* * *

"You have a priority call from Lord Serpent, mistress. Shall I put it on the screen?" Pandora's subordinate spoke.

Pandora nodded, and Serpent's face appeared on the screen. "What is your current status?"

"We have taken…high casualties…on both fronts…"

"I see. The ground echelon?"

"Fifteen percent…survived…your estimates of the Guardian's…defenses…were inadequate…"

"Hmph. And the air fleet?"

Pandora spoke with the subordinate in command, and turned back to the screen. "Out of 32 ships…nine are completely destroyed…seven more severely damaged…and five more have lesser injuries…"

"…And dare I ask of the Guardians?"

"The base is completely intact…The airship has taken some heavy damage…but is also largely intact…" She noticed a very unpleasant look on Serpent's face and continued quickly. "However, Prometheus is on board…and will finish the job…but only if he wins…against her…"

"I see… Well, Prometheus should be more than a match for the girl Chosen, so that should take care of both her and the Guardians. Some of them might escape, but without a base, they'll be powerless. Have the survivors of the battle return to headquarters. The Model W fragment is resonating more and more, which means we are getting closer to the W Core. Begin the process of collecting cyber-elves for the awakening. Serpent out."

Serpent vanished from the screen, leaving Pandora to her thoughts. Not all of them were pleasant.

"If the girl wins…we have a chance…but Prometheus might be hurt…But if Prometheus wins…she will fall…and our whole plan might fall with her…"

Pandora sighed and looked at the view screen, which showed the retreating Guardian HQ.

"Brother…please be safe…"

* * *

**Alright Aile, pay attention. Prometheus has a long reach with that scythe of his, and the curve of the blade makes it hard to block correctly. I'd like to say that you'd be better off dodging his attacks outright, but he's probably too fast for that, and the Zx-Armor isn't as agile as Giro was with just the Z-Armor. You'd be best off moving constantly, and reacting when he starts to swing.**

_Thanks for the advice. Anything else?_

**Our spat in Area D was more like a fight between Giro and Prometheus, with me simply supplying Giro with a sword. This is your fight Aile, so you'll have to take the lead for this one. I'll keep an eye out and give you advice, but that's all I can do at this point.**

Model X gave Z a look of sorts. **Model Z, are you alright? You sound kind of different.**

**I have instincts X, and all of them are screaming at me about something being amiss. Not Prometheus, but something else… I'll run a scan on it later or something, but right now, we need to focus on the task at hand.**

"It really must suck to have all those voices in your head." Prometheus remarked, tugging Aile's mind back to reality.

Prairie and Maquereau had left the room to help clear the ship of any remaining mavericks, and to give the two fighters some space, so the two were completely alone in the room.

And for some odd reason, despite that fact that he was there to kill them all, Aile didn't feel the same hostility she did before.

Aile smiled faintly. "Yea, it does. But you get used to it eventually."

The purple and grey reploid shrugged. "Eh. Not something I have to worry about. So, are you about ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Heh. Then let's get started, shall we?"

And with that, Prometheus launched himself forwards.

* * *

"You're sure? The ship is cleared of all enemies?"

Gardenia nodded. "Yes Ma'am. Not counting the reploid you spoke of in the reactor room, the ship is devoid of all hostiles. Silure is already starting repairs, and Muguet and Rose are patching up the wounded. Luckily for us, nobody suffered any life-threatening injuries."

"Good. That's a relief. And did you get word from the main base?"

The operator smirked. "The mavericks that attacked it didn't have a chance. Sub commander Colbor absolutely annihilated them, and he didn't even suffer any casualties."

Prairie blinked. "So, you mean to tell me that we somehow drove off a huge Maverick force without a single death?"

Maquereau laughed. "Talk about lucky. I think the most serious wound was Marguerite's head, and Rose says she'll be fine. The only problem now is that Prometheus character. What's with him? He openly told us his plan, allowing us to circumvent it."

To counter Prometheus's threat to drop the HQ on the main base, they would land the HQ a few kilometers from the base and evacuate all the nonessential personnel not involved with vital repairs. They were currently descending towards the landing point.

Prairie frowned. "I don't know what his intentions are. Maybe he expects to lose. But I'm still worried about Aile. If he's as good as I suspect he is…" Prairie spun around suddenly. "We have surveillance cameras in the reactor room, right?"

Tulip nodded. "Yes Ma'am, three of them to be exact. I'll bring the feed up on the main monitor."

The reactor room appeared before them, just as the two figures in it clashed together.

* * *

Aile realized that Model Z was correct: There was no easy way to block a scythe with a beam saber. The blade of the scythe extended past her reach, and if she blocked the shaft of the scythe, the blade could still hit her. And blocking the blade itself would be too hard, as Prometheus could simply aim the blade a bit to the left or right to bypass her defense. Giro had had a better chance, since his version of the Z-Saber was longer than hers, but she didn't have that option. The closest she had was the Lx-Halberd, and she had no intention of leaving Model Z out of this fight. Perhaps some of H and Z's honor was wearing off on her.

So she didn't block, and ducked into a tight roll as the scythe came down, just missing her.

Prometheus recovered quickly, and spun the weapon around in a tight arc, hoping to hit her as she exited the roll. Aile countered by firing a shot with her buster pistol in mid-roll, with unerring accuracy, and Prometheus was forced to block the incoming shot.

Aile ran at him with her saber, but Prometheus leapt over her horizontal slash. She reversed her slash and swung upwards with a diagonal stroke, but he caught the saber blade with his scythe blade, turning it aside. The action let him move somewhat closer, and Prometheus kicked Aile, catching her off guard and sending her flying.

_How is he that fast!?_

**He isn't. He's simply reading your moves Aile, and then reacting to them before you do. And you're not reading his moves, which makes him seem to move faster than he actually is.**

_And how exactly do I 'read his moves', Model Z?_

**You're spending too much time focusing on where to put **_**your**_** blade, and not enough focusing on where he's putting **_**his**_**. Once you can see what he plans to do, your weapon and instincts will do the rest. Furthermore, you need to prevent him from reading your own moves. Try to make your own moves sudden and abrupt so he can't predict them, but not so much that you throw off your balance.**

_I'll try._

Prometheus jumped at her again as she finished recovering, clearly intent on bringing the scythe blade straight through her in a vertical slash. But as Aile dove to her left, Prometheus suddenly angled the blade towards her. Only a swift jump backwards saved her.

**That's what I meant Aile. He predicted that you would leap to the side, and made it so he could angle his weapon to compensate. Leap back next time, and counterattack with a swift downward slash.** Model Z suddenly paused. _**Juuhazan**_**, as I recall. That's what that technique was called. Retract from an attack and counter with an immense slash. If he does that attack again, give it a try.**

Aile interposed her blade, narrowly deflecting the scythe away from her midsection as Prometheus shot skyward, twirling his scythe like some insane propeller.

"Not bad. But I've got more than that up my sleeve!" With that proclamation, Prometheus simply hovered in midair, just out of reach, and launched four balls of purple fire from beneath his cape. Said fireballs drifted down to Aile's level and began spewing fire at her, much to her dismay.

**So much for just blade to blade combat. **Model H muttered as Aile twisted and dove frantically to dodge the flaming bolts of energy trying to turn her into a human torch.

"Well I can play that game too!" Aile shouted, launching a charged shot at the hovering reploid with her buster pistol. She successfully knocked the purple-armored warrior out of the air, but didn't inflict too much damage. She did manage to sever his control over the fireballs though, and they sputtered and died.

Without a word, Prometheus dashed straight for her, and Aile did likewise. They locked weapons in the center of the room with a bang as the two plasma-based weapons slammed together.

* * *

To Aile, the battle seemed to go slowly, as the adrenaline in her system made the world move slower in her eyes. But to those on the bridge, the battle was lightning fast. In fact, those on the bridge kept cheering and rooting for Aile as she and Prometheus fought to a standstill in a blur of motion.

Only Prairie looked on with anxiety and fear, as her honed instincts told her what nobody else realized.

_He's holding back. But by how much? And is Aile strong enough to deal with it?_

* * *

**You can't lock weapons like that Aile. He'll just take advantage of his weapon's greater reach.**

"Thanks for that tidbit of info. You're a bit late though." Aile grumbled as she pushed off the wall that Prometheus had just knocked her into.

**I'm just making sure you know.**

Aile ignored Model L, instead focusing on sliding past Prometheus as he swept his scythe in a horizontal arc. He managed to block her swipe as she spun upwards, but she mimicked him and kicked out at him, surprising the reploid and knocking him over.

**Nice one!**

But Prometheus rolled aside as she slashed down at him, leaping upright in the process.

He was smiling.

"Not bad Aile. Not bad at all. But surely that's not all you can do. I'd like to think that you can do better than this."

**Aile, be careful. Something's not right.** Model X said ominously.

"I saw what happened in Area D Aile. Models X and Z did something to save your life, I think. But in the process, they unleashed enough energy to put Model W to shame."

Aile's eyes widened, along with her Biometals. But he wasn't done.

"Model X and Model Z… Those two Biometals are based on two of the most powerful beings to ever exist in this world. They have some of their memories, their power, and maybe even some of their personality too. But that's not all." He smirked. "I think that a 'ghost', rather, an impression of their former selves has imparted itself on those two Biometals. Maybe even all six of them. Somewhat like an echo of the great beings they used to be. And they only awaken in times of great stress, such as when the life of their chosen is in jeopardy."

To her credit, Aile tried to move, but he was just too fast. Prometheus slashed with his scythe and launched a wave of energy at her. She barely managed to block, but the force of it cast her across the room into the wall, and she gasped as the air was forced from her lungs.

Prometheus shot at her much faster than he'd been moving before, and a swipe of the scythe knocked the Zx-saber out of the winded transporter's hand. He reversed his spin, and buried the scythe in her shoulder, effectively pinning her to the bulkhead.

Winded as she was, she couldn't even scream.

* * *

"Aile!"

Prairie didn't hesitate one bit. In a flash, she'd grabbed her recoil rods and dashed off before anyone could stop her.

Maybe, _maybe _she could stall Prometheus for a while. Prairie was good, but she'd seen the reploid move, and she knew that he was faster than her by far, and his scythe gave him a greater advantage over her recoil rods than it did over Aile's saber.

But she didn't care. She refused to let Aile die, even if it meant going up against Prometheus.

_Hold on Aile. I'm coming._

* * *

"Where is it? Where is the power to match Model W?"

Prometheus had recovered the Zx-saber, and stood directly in front of Aile, who was struggling with the scythe attaching her to the wall.

"If this is the extent of your power… of your Biometals…" Prometheus drew the blade back. "…Then you aren't worthy of being part of our plan!" He thrust the blade forward, aimed straight at her heart.

* * *

_Z, I want you to promise me, no, __swear__ to me that you'll do what you can to keep Aile safe. I want your word, the word of Model Z, which has never been broken._

**…**

_**As long as Aile is under my care, I swear I shall never fail her.**_

* * *

It wasn't so much as a burst of energy, but rather an instinctive feeling, a signal that only those who knew what it was could feel it.

Somewhere in the shadows of Guardian HQ, the Observer felt it, and he smiled.

_So it's begun. _He_ has returned._

* * *

The Zx-saber pierced Aile, going right through her and embedding itself in the metal behind her.

Then Aile vanished.

Prometheus started. "What the-?"

**"Sougenmu."**

Prometheus turned at the voice, and was greeted by a fist, which sent him flying.

**"Roughly translated, it means, 'Twin Dreams'. It lets me make a copy of myself, and lets me move elsewhere. I even managed to leave your scythe's wound behind, but Aile's body isn't really built for this particular technique, so I could only use it once."**

"Model Z, I presume? I guess I was right in guessing that you would emerge to save your chosen."

Prometheus turned, and stopped…then stared.

Aile was standing before him, but she seemed different. He couldn't place it, until he looked at her eyes.

Her pupils were a dull red color, much like Model Z was.

"So this is the shadow of a hero. Tell me Model Z, do you think yourself strong enough? You appear to have awakened, but your power seems to be lacking. Where is the energy that you gave off in Area D?"

Aile/Model Z grinned. **"That was more X's doing than mine. As for being a 'shadow of a hero', you couldn't be further from the truth."**

The voice was unnerving, as it was a weird hybrid of Aile's voice, and another voice. Something stirred uneasily in Prometheus's gut, but he wasn't sure what. "What do you mean?"

**"There is a being called a cyber elf. It is the spirit of a deceased human or a reploid that has encountered cyberspace. In a word, it is the digital representation of that person. When a physical being dies, their **_**entire **_**being is transferred into cyberspace, which then takes the form of a cyber elf."**

Aile/Model Z smirked wickedly. **"And what is a Biometal in the simplest of terms, but a physical shell wrapped around a cyber elf? I don't think I need to say the name; you should be able to guess just whose cyber elf, whose **_**spirit**_**, resides in what you call Model Z."**

And then Prometheus knew. He knew just who, no, what he faced. He had sought to awaken the sleeping lion within Model Z, but the lion had revealed itself to be a dragon in disguise. Prometheus now faced the dragon's fiery maw within those burning red eyes, and he felt an emotion he'd never encountered before: fear.

The crimson-armored warrior tossed Prometheus his scythe, while casually flipping the Zx-saber into her/his left hand.

**"You want to see my power? So be it; I'll show you what I've got. After all, it would be discourteous of me to not to fight you after you went to such lengths to awaken me."**

Prometheus slowly readied himself for battle, but in his mind he despaired, for unless he was mistaken, the being that stood before him was not Aile, nor Model Z, nor even the mere shade of a warrior from a war-torn past.

"…_Destruction Incarnate_..."

* * *

Prairie spent a good half minute cursing at the lift as it carried her, Maquereau, and three other soldiers to the lowest levels of the HQ. The moment the lift stopped, she burst out, neatly evading the Guardians repairing the damaged hull. She dashed as fast as she could towards the waiting doors that lead to the generator room, her beam tonfas at ready, but unlit.

She stumbled over some wrecked flooring, and it probably saved her life.

The door to the generator room was literally torn from the wall as something was flung into it from the other side with immeasurable force, and nearly clipped Prairie as it fell to the ground with a dull boom.

Prometheus staggered upright with a curse, ignoring the Guardians around him getting out of the way. He extended his scythe in a ready position and hurled himself forwards.

**"Kougenjin!"**

A crescent of blue/green energy shot from the room, slamming into Prometheus and sending him flying into the wall.

Prairie realized he was badly damaged as he tried to force himself upright, but she ignored it, focusing instead on the red-armored figure that walked through the ruined doors.

"A-Aile?"

It was Aile…and at the same time it wasn't Aile. If the red-hued eyes didn't give that fact away, then the skewed hybrid voice did. Not to mention the fact that she was loosely holding the Zx-saber in her left hand, and Prairie knew that Aile was right-handed.

**"Are you satisfied? I've barely scratched the surface of my full capabilities, however limited they are in this form, and you're already down for the count."**

Prometheus glared at the swordfighter, but he made no move to attack.

**"You know my name, Prometheus. Run back to your master and tell him just **_**who**_** has returned. He might as well have fair warning, since once I'm done here, I'll be coming after him."**

Without so much as an objection, Prometheus vanished.

Prairie, in the meantime, was trying to wrap her mind around just what was going on, even as her Guardians were watching Aile with mouths agape and eyes wide.

"Aile?"

**"Not quite. Aile was somewhat incapacitated, so I took over. She should be fine now."**

"Model Z then. How did you drive him off?"

He/she smirked. **"How I drove him off should be obvious. As for 'Model Z', that was my name initially, when I lacked any memory of who I was, or if I even was that someone who I thought I was. But I remember now, Alouette."**

Her eyes shot wide open at the name.

**"I much prefer the name Ciel called me when she found me in an abandoned laboratory two hundred years ago. It's the same name you called me when we first met, and when we were last together, and even when I gave you my recoil rods and taught you to use them."**

Prairie's eyes were now so wide, they seemed on the verge of popping out of her head. Like Prometheus before her, she _knew_.

"Z-Z-Z…"

Half the Guardians gave her odd looks as she stammered over the same letter, but they mimicked her expression as she managed to whisper a single word.

"_Zero…"_

* * *

AN: Aaaaaaaaaand it's Zero!

…Okay, honestly, how many of you saw this coming? As I mentioned way earlier, Model Z isn't a memory or impression of Zero, but actually Zero himself, reborn after his apparent demise.

And since I couldn't really figure out a way to accurately describe how that would work normally, I just cheated, and said that it's Zero's cyber elf wrapped in a physical shell. I'll put more description on it later. Honestly. I've even got a way to draw a certain unknown into that particular description, but I won't give anything away just yet.

As for the left handed/right handed? All of Aile/Vent's artwork and pictures shows them holding their weapons of choice in their right hands, leading me to assume that they are right handed. But if you look carefully at the box art for Megaman X-X8, and some of the pictures in the Zero series, Zero is holding his saber in his _left_ hand. Of course, in some, he's also holding it in his right hand as well, but I believe that Zero can do that, being a master swordsman and all that.


	17. The Legendary Maverick Hunter

Again, it takes me forever and then some to update. I apologize. Hopefully, I can get back into the idea of updating sooner, but only time will tell.

One of the chief reasons this took so long (Discounting the fact that I'm a lazy bastard) is I had issues dealing with a certain system that is going to appear in this chapter. In the last chapter, Zero used some of his techniques to defeat Prometheus, and I intended for Aile to learn a couple of those techniques, creating a sort of mix between the game's Model Zx and Ox (I've got a much, _much_ better idea on how to incorporate Omega). But while I could explain that off as canon-like, I had absolutely no explanation for what I intended to introduce in _this_ chapter.

After a long period of deliberation, I finally decided to include the system and hope for the best. My justification for this is that some of the abilities that will be gained by the other Biometals will be non-canon anyways. In addition, I was hoping to make a sequel to this someday (Provided I finish this story first), and the ability that Aile gains in this chapter will be invaluable to her continued existence in some of these later stories.

This won't make it any easier for Aile though. Quite the opposite, Aile's foes will likely get much harder from this point on. I have to keep it balanced to some degree, right? Although how balanced it can be when you've got all those Biometals on your side remains to be seen.

And those of you who have been paying attention, I made a passing reference to this system in one of my earlier chapters.

One more thing: I've been putting off explaining a few things as much as possible, and I probably will keep putting it off until I reach a certain point. But I'm still trying to get a couple of details sorted out, so you'll have to wait just a bit longer. Again, if you think I missed explaining anything, don't be afraid to let me know.

In parting, let me assure those of you who have been keeping an eye on this: I said I intend to finish this, and I _will_ finish it. As I said in one of my previous chapters, don't give up on me. I haven't forgotten about you.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Seventeen

The Legendary Maverick Hunter

* * *

Two days had passed since the battle in the skies of Innerpeace. The Guardians had mostly repaired the damaged Guardian HQ, and were currently alternating between fixing the remainder, and taking some much needed time off.

And in Sub Commander Colbor's room in the Guardian Main Base, an argument was under way.

**For the last time, I don't know what happened to Ciel.**

There were but three occupants in the room. Two were Commanders Prairie and Colbor, and both were glaring at the red and white Biometal hovering in the center of the room.

**Giving me the evil eye won't help. Believe me; I've had far worse stares in my lifetime. And it doesn't change the fact that I don't remember.**

"Weren't you there? How could you not know what happened?"

**She's the one that sealed our memories away in the first place, Alouette. Even now, I'm not sure why. What I do know is that after she sealed our memories, she left me in one of her labs and set off to scatter the other Biometals securely here and there. I…don't quite remember, but I don't think she ever came back. What happened to her and where she went are beyond my ability to see.**

Prairie opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. She knew that Zero was genuinely fond of Ciel, and he was probably as worked up as to where she'd gone as she was.

"What I want to know," Colbor spoke up, "is why Ciel felt the need to distance herself from us in order to create the Biometals."

Prairie perked up at that, but Zero shook his head.

**Sorry. I don't have an answer to that. If she had a reason, she didn't say. It's possible that the Resistance/Guardians held too many memories for her, but I don't know.**

"Hmm…" Prairie mused for a second, then suddenly pivoted and walked out of the room, Zero and Colbor looking after her.

**Odd…she might know more about that than I do. She certainly seems to be thinking hard on it. It even slipped her mind to ask me about what happened with Aile in Area D.**

"Are you even going to answer her if she asks?" Colbor gave Zero a suspicious glance.

**I might. I'd prefer that X be there as well, since he's a part of it. Speaking of Aile, where'd she run off to anyways?**

"She's wandering through the base somewhere. She mentioned something about wanting to clear her head."

* * *

The air shimmered, and a galleon hunter appeared. It was promptly shot between the eyes by a plasma bolt. The galleon hunter soon vanished as well, only to be replaced by another.

There was something mind-numbingly soothing about shooting an endless hoard of mavericks without pause. The Guardian's base was designed to have something of everything, and it's many simulators included active battle, target shooting, and other, more interesting things to pass the time. At the moment, Aile was using the target practice simulator, utilizing only the X-Armor, and was racking up kill after kill.

Model X was worried. He and Model P had remained with Aile, while Model Z/Zero had gone off with Prairie and Colbor, and the other three Biometals had decided to explore the base. X could tell something was bothering her, and he couldn't tell what. His instincts told him it had something to do with Zero, but what exactly it referred to he couldn't tell.

After Aile's score reached 600 consecutive kills or so, X finally got fed up with it. He forcibly unmerged, startling Aile. "Huh? X?"

**Aile, what is wrong with you? You haven't been yourself since the battle.**

"I've just been thinking."

**And what are you thinking of that is important enough to ignore everyone around you?**

Aile shrugged as she pushed a button, recording her score into the mainframe. "X, do you remember what happened when Zero emerged from Model Z?"

**Zero sallied forth and defeated Prometheus. Why?**

"Nothing. It just occurred to me that our relationships go both ways."

**Explain**. Model P spoke quietly.

"Well, you guys can't do anything without a host, right? You need someone to merge with in order to use your power. And apparently, you guys can take over my body when I am merged with you, right?"

Both Biometals were silent for a moment. Model P, however, was slightly more perceptive.

**Do you feel useless?**

Aile blinked.

**You obviously seem upset that you were unable to defeat Prometheus, therefore requiring Zero to step in. You feel that **_**you**_** are hindering **_**us**_** to some extent. Am I correct?**

Aile stared at Model P in vague surprise.

**Don't be surprised Aile. I am **_**very**_** good at reading people. It's one of my best capabilities; it lets me determine what my opponent will do, sometimes before they even do it.**

Aile didn't say anything for a moment as she began to set up the simulator for another round, but she hesitated with her finger on the 'Start' button.

"I promised Giro that I would finish what he started. I want to know that it's me that can do it, not just one of you guys through me."

Her hand dropped. "Besides, how can I beat Serpent if I can't even beat his subordinate?"

Model P said nothing. Neither did Model X. Aile's hand rose to press the button.

**I was built to be as close to human as ever possible. Even now, 400 years later, nobody has ever come as close as I did. One of my primary abilities was an ability to adapt to my surroundings, and become stronger if I had to. That is a **_**human **_**trait, Aile. You are young yet, and you are still for from experienced. But if you put your mind to it, you can become much, much stronger. Someday, perhaps **_**we**_** will hinder **_**you **_**in your travels. You should not be upset if one of us gives aid to you in the many battles that await you.**

Aile blinked. So did Model P. But before either could say anything, X gave off an audible click. **Wait, what just happened?**

"…That was you just now, wasn't it? I mean, the real you."

**I believe it was indeed Master X.** Model P said. **However, it seems his moment of freedom was short-lived. He appears to have fallen beneath Biometal Model X once more.**

**I…awoke…for a second? What did I say?**

Aile was silent. Then, she gave X a faint smile. "You answered my question X. I'll just have to get stronger than I am now. Then, I'll be able to fulfill my promise to Giro. I guess that's all I have to do now."

Aile shut down the simulator, wryly noticing that her 634 consecutive kills paled compared to Colbor, who had the only score higher than hers with 1790. She headed for the door, but stopped midway. "I have a request of you X. And you as well, P."

**We're listening.**

"I know it might be selfish of me, but would you promise me that you'll ask my permission before you 'take over' anytime in the future? I'm not saying I don't want your help, but…"

**I understand Aile.** X gave the impression of a small smile. **And I agree. It is your body, and it would be discourteous not to. You have my word.**

**And mine.** Model P spoke. **And I'm sure that the others will agree as well. But suppose there comes an instant where you need our help at a crucial moment, and there isn't time for it, or if you are in a poor state to answer. What then?**

"Use your own judgment, I guess. I'll trust you guys to know when you need to jump in."

**Very well. Now, if I may ask, what are you going to do now?**

"Practice."

* * *

"She has allied herself with _Zero_!?"

Prometheus nodded, and Serpent's expression alternated between abject horror and towering anger. "This bodes ill for the plan. We need time to recover and revive Model W…and since they are part of the plan, I cannot remove the remaining Pseudoroids from their posts. The girl Chosen will soon possess the complete passwords, and if Model W is not recovered by then, all will be for naught."

"Pandora." She looked at him. "We must take steps to prevent the plan from being hindered. I want you to give the order for Hurricaune to transfer all of the cyber elves in her possession over to Slither Inc. Headquarters without delay. They will be needed to awaken Model W, and I do not want to waste time collecting more. And step up maverick attacks in Areas B and D to help divert the Guardians' attention elsewhere."

Serpent walked off, presumably to plan how to deal with this new situation.

Prometheus smirked at his sister. "So, how long do you think he'll take to figure out that Zero's the least of his worries at this point? You know, considering that Zero is just one being, and the other five Biometals are just as strong as he is…"

* * *

**'Practice' she says.** Zero grumbled. **If this is what you consider practice, then I consider the battle with Prometheus as hard exercise.**

Aile ignored him, instead focusing on evading a blast of sonic energy from the giant drake mechaniloid, answering it's attack with a charged shot to the head.

Aile had opted to take a mission investigating the disappearance of several people from Innerpeace. The Guardians had detected life-signs in Area I, just past the power plant in Area E, and Aile had been sent in to locate them.

Of course, the moment she got to Area I, mavericks were popping out of every conceivable opening to attack her. Zero had, naturally, volunteered his services as well as to teach Aile some of his techniques. So they tore across the broken wastes of Area I, through the pounding rain and pitch-black interiors of what used to be buildings, with no small amount of assistance from Model P's enhanced senses. Now, they were in a giant, empty space underground, facing off against a giant dragon-like mechaniloid hell-bent on turning the transporter inside out.

**Okay, it's above you. Try the technique I taught you.**

"_Tenretsujin_!" Aile yelled, and leapt into the air with the Zx-Saber scything upwards viciously. A powerful and quite possibly lethal technique.

The Diadrake evaded the attack.

Zero cursed, causing Model X to glare sharply at him. **Aile, you took too long setting up the attack. You'll need to find your balance properly before you can jump that quickly.**

"I'm trying…"

**And against an opponent of this caliber, I would advise against using that technique. **Model H remarked calmly. **Zero, she should rely on conventional attacks until she learns how to properly harness your techniques.**

Unfortunately for Aile, Zero's techniques were much harder to learn than the triple slash had been. All she'd been able to manage so far was the _Tenretsujin_ uppercut slash, and her form was sloppy at best.

Aile sighed and reverted to the Fx-Armor, and proceeded to bombard the mechaniloid with several well-aimed shots. Then she charged into it's face and crushed it's head in with the heavy knuckle busters, taking a laser shot to the chest for her troubles. Fortunately, the majority of the damage rebounded off Model F's thick armor.

They entered a room several stories up, and she drifted towards the ground using the Hx-Armor's boosters. As they floated down, Aile spoke up. "I have a question Zero."

**Shoot.**

"Why exactly do I have to shout the technique I'm about to use?"

**Well…**Zero mused for a moment, ignoring the silent laughter of the other Biometals. **Several reasons actually. First, it helps put you in the proper mindset. Hearing the name of the technique you're about to use prepares your body to execute the proper form. That way, you can focus better on where your opponent is, and you can make sure you hit them with the attack.**

**Second, while my original Z-Saber could tell what I wanted it to do instinctively, practically being a part of myself, this Zx-Saber requires voice input. You'll need to identify the correct technique being used for, say, an elemental-typed attack, for the blade to engage the correct element. Of course, I'm still working on the elemental versions for this weapon, but you should at least get into the habit of saying it.**

**And finally,** Model L muttered, **He's cocky enough to let his opponents know exactly what he's going to do to them before he does it.**

Aile failed to suppress a giggle, and Zero leered at Model L.

**But then, if you think about it, that's just who Zero is.**

Zero transferred his leer to Model X, who just spoke, and Aile giggled some more.

**Even you would have to admit that the look on some mavericks' faces when I stood right next to them and shouted **_**Rakuhouha**_** was beyond worth it, especially when I used said technique to blow them to pieces.**

"Ra…ku…houha?"

**One of my strongest attacks, and a very useful one at that. It's an attack that I can only use once per mission or so, but that's because it takes so long to charge up again.**

"Is it powerful?"

Model Z smirked. **Extremely powerful. I use the energy projectors in my hand to release an expanding sphere of pure energy around myself, which can utterly annihilate most enemies and severely damage the strongest of foes. Granted, it only works when I hit a high-density object, which is why I punch the ground to kick off the technique, but it's **_**very**_** useful when surrounded. **

"I'll bet." Aile paused. "Is it possible for me to learn?"

Model Z was silent for a moment. **I'll be honest Aile. A lot of my techniques rely…**_**relied**_**…heavily on my own advanced systems, like the **_**Sougenmu**_** illusion technique I used against Prometheus. Most of my really cool techs are ones that can't be performed by humans, however gifted they are. But you…** Zero looked Aile over. **You might be able to handle **_**Rakuhouha**_**. Granted, not at any point in the near future, but you might become capable of using it someday.**

"Guess I'll have something to look forward to then." Aile touched down at last. "And Zero, just for the record, is there _anything_ in your long list of techniques that isn't used to…what did Model F call it…'blow shit up'?"

**Not really.**

"I didn't think so."

* * *

"…is that right?"

Colbor nodded. "Several of my scouts have scattered reports about spotting a mysterious person around Innerpeace. I was fully prepared to accept that as Zero, at least until he revealed himself in Model Z. But that leaves the unexplained question of who it is. Prairie, any ideas?"

Prairie absently twirled one of her recoil rods while she mulled something over.

"Colbor, do you remember when Sis left on her own?"

Colbor recalled how she'd left the room with Model Z and himself earlier. "Yup, I remember that day. It was right after the recon team found that Model W fragment. I figured she'd left to make the Biometals to counter it."

"I think that's what she wanted everyone to believe. But she'd actually started her research on the Biometals, or something like them, well before then. Only she couldn't figure out a way to bring their memories back perfectly. At least, that's what she told me."

Colbor glanced quizzically at her. "Then why'd she leave in the first place?"

Prairie gazed levelly at her sub-commander and friend. "A camera just outside her room in the old HQ caught some footage of some figure we couldn't make out clearly speaking to her about something. The camera didn't have audio, but whatever they spoke of, it must have been important because she vanished right the next day. And he left without any trace at all, as if he'd never been there to begin with."

"…" Colbor gazed blankly at her.

"Whoever this person is, he's definitely connected to X and Zero. In addition, I believe that he is also part of the reason that Sis up and left the ways she did." Prairie's gaze hardened. "Colbor, I want you to find this person, whoever he is. Who he is, what his purpose is, anything relevant about him, I want you to find out. I don't know if he's for or against us, but I'd prefer to know _before_ he does anything significant."

* * *

"Ah-_choo_!!"

A lone Guardian soldier jumped as he heard the sharp noise, and immediately brought his weapon to bear. However, a thorough search of his immediate area failed to turn up anything that could have made such a noise. Waiting and listening for a few moments, he still failed to hear anything.

"Ah, it's probably nothing."

He continued on to wherever he was headed in the base.

Halfway up the air shaft on the other side of the wall from where the Guardian soldier was, a familiar figure covered his mouth.

_Someone's talking about me. There's no other reason for me to sneeze involuntarily. Especially considering I can't sneeze to begin with…wait a minute…_

* * *

"Possibly the most advanced armor, weapons, and systems in the known world, and none of them can counter a single, simple force of nature bent on making my life miserable."

Those had been Aile's words the moment they'd entered Area I, where the sky was unleashing thousands of rounds of it's personal arsenal upon the poor transporter. The rain, which was not capable of hurting her, or moving fast enough to cause her harm, was ignored by her armor's personal shields, and proceeded to soak her through.

And as she worked her way between the pitch blackness of the shattered husks of what used to be buildings, she was constantly assaulted by the torrential downpour, not improving her opinion of the area, or it's inhabitants.

The Biometals, safe in Aile's mind, were unhampered by the rain, and thus proceeded to ignore her complaints.

They finally entered another room, this one open to the rain, and Aile grimaced as she moved forward into it.

**Aile, I have detected life signs. The missing people are about 20 meters from our present location.**

"Great. Let's free them and get out of here. This place gives me the chills, in several ways."

But just as Aile headed for the door, there was a blinding flash as lightning forked overhead. And thunder boomed in response…_twice_! Aile spun around before Model P could even tell her there was someone behind her.

"Don't tell me, you're here to save the people trapped here, aren't you? Quite the little heroine, aren't you?"

Where seconds ago there had been nothing, there was now a large weasel-shaped reploid, with some sort of blades on it's arms, legs, and back. Some of them were spinning, and producing a faint wind.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're the other Model H pseudoroid."

The pseudoroid nodded, but it's smile was far from benign.

"Good guess. You're very astute, for a human that is."

**I do believe we're being insulted.** Model H growled. **Not that standing here in front of us waving **_**my**_** power around like it's a toy isn't enough of an insult.**

**Don't worry Harp, we'll patch up your pride once we beat the stuffing out of this guy.** **Preferably with the aforementioned techniques used to blow shit up, courtesy of yours truly. **Zero remarked with a smirk, completely ignoring the other Biometals as they rolled their eyes.

"First," Aile pointed her current weapon, the Zx-Pistol, at the pseudoroid. "Why did you kidnap those people anyways? What could Serpent have to gain?"

The weasel reploid laughed. "You know so little. Tell you what, since you're about to die, I'll let you in on a little secret. At this exact moment, one could destroy Model W by sneezing on it."

Aile blinked in confusion.

"You may be confused, but don't forget that the core of Model W has been lying in stasis for the better part of two centuries. It's bound to be a little weak. So to awaken its full power, it needs…sustenance."

**And Model W consumes…humans?** Model L asked hesitantly.

The pseudoroid laughed. "No."

L gave a faint sigh of relief.

"Model W needs cyber elves to fully awaken. And how do you make Cyber Elves, I wonder..."

They all gaped at the weasel reploid.

**This explains why we found so many cyber elves at the power plant. Cyber Elves are created by deceased humans and reploids who have encountered cyberspace…**

**And they're **_**making**_**cyber elves by killing these people!** Model L finished Zero's thought.

"I won't let you continue this!" Aile yelled.

"Oh really?" The pseudoroid leered at her. "I'm afraid that I can't let you continue defying Lord Serpent either." The weasel reploid lowered itself into a ready position. "I am Hurricaune, a Model H Pseurodoid of Lord Serpent. _Your _Cyber Elf will make a lovely snack for Model W when it awakens!!"

Hurricaune shot forward.

* * *

The Guardians didn't know it, but _he_ was in the house.

He crept around corners, scrambled through air shafts, and performed other ninja-like techniques to avoid being spotted.

He was invisible. He was the epitome of stealth; the Solid Snake of the future, the Sam Fisher of 24xx, the…

_Stop that_, he mentally chided himself. It had been a long time since he'd performed an infiltration like this, but that was no excuse to become overconfident, or complacent. He was too experienced to fall for hubris.

Banishing any other remarks from his mind, the figure snuck around the base, efficiently avoiding cameras and personnel (not to inflate his ego or anything, but he actually was that good), until he arrived at his destination: a large circular room that was completely empty with the exception of the large pillar-like object in the center. This object was the Guardians' central mainframe, which held all the collected data from the entirety Guardians organization. Not to mention some hidden data from its direct ancestor: the data cortex of the former Neo Arcadian Resistance Movement, more commonly known as the Resistance.

Fortunately for him, there was nobody there. Finding a terminal that brought the giant mainframe between the only door and him, he sat down and activated the unit.

Prompted for a password, he input a code that should give the user unrestricted access while simultaneously hiding the user's online status. There were only four people in the whole world who knew this particular 'blank code'. Two of them were Prairie and Colbor, one of them was himself, and they all received the code from the same person.

That person had been the former leader of both the Guardians and the Resistance: The scientist, Ciel.

The console accepted the password, so he cracked his knuckles and set to work. He had a lot of work to do, and even if nobody was supposed to be in there for the next 3 hours, Chance and Murphy had a notorious habit of screwing people over when they least expected it.

He had to work fast.

* * *

Aile leapt out of the way of Hurricaune's charge, and immediately grimaced at how close the pseudoroid had come to hitting her. It was fast, even faster than Prometheus had been.

_I have to slow it down. But how?_

It came to her in a flash: Model X's lecture on elemental systems. Ice beats lightning, to be specific.

"L, can you project ice energy in this armor like Model H can in his?"

**Uh, well...**The blue Biometal thought for a brief moment. **If I were at my full strength, you could craft ice dragons with my projectors. But now? I can solidify the air in front of me, but it's only really useful for creating floating platforms in water.**

Hurricaune shot a cyclone of wind at her with incredible speed. Aile ducked low under the wind energy. "You're the Biometal of Ice, right? How can I use an ice element against this thing?"

**Well, I guess you could use my energy projectors to affect my halberd. Problem is, it would drain my energy really fast, and you'd have to physically hit Hurricaune with it to have any effect.**

Aile shifted to the Lx-Armor. "It's better than nothing L. We have to slow that pseudoroid down somehow. I don't think I can hit it at range, not at the speed it's moving."

Model L didn't reply, but Aile felt a trickle of power course through the Lx-Armor, and her halberd began to glow a soft blue color. Aile felt the temperature drop around the weapon.

**I can hold this for only half a minute or so Aile. Make it count.**

Aile dashed forward, but was forced to dodge to the side when Hurricaune launched a crescent of lightning energy at her from the blade on her back.

"Did you really think I'd let you get close enough to me to use that half-baked idea of yours?" The pseudoroid sneered, and half of Aile's Biometals cursed mildly.

**Aile, we can hear your thoughts if you want us to. From now on, discuss battle tactics where the enemy can't hear them.** Model P informed her.

_Right, sorry_.Aile thought back, changing into the Fx-Armor. _L, be ready with those ice projectors. If I can lure her close enough, I'll swap for the Lx-armor and hopefully hit Hurricaune with your halberd._

**Got it Aile. I'll be ready for you.**

Aile opened fire with both of her knuckle-busters, a bit more wildly than she was used to, in a bid to force the pseudoroid to close with her and attack. But Hurricaune was more cunning than the previous pseudoroids Aile had faced, and refused to close the gap between them. Aile fired off a salvo, then dashed forward, but Hurricaune not only dodged the salvo, but also leapt straight up to get away from her.

Aile swapped for the Px-Armor and evaded Hurricaune as the pseudoroid shot downwards, leg blades impaling the ground where Aile had just been. Aile flung a brace of kunai, but Hurricaune brought up her spinning arm blades and deflected them.

**I believe that those blades can deflect most projectiles Aile. We'll either have to find a way around it or attack with a melee weapon, preferably L's halberd.** Model H informed her.

_We'll need to slow it down first, that's obvious. Anyone have any ideas on how we can do that? _

**I…have an idea of sorts, although it may take me a moment to make sure I have everything correct.** Model X spoke up hesitantly. **However, I don't know if it will work or not.**

_It's better than nothing X. Let me know when you're ready._

Hurricaune shot a cyclone at her while she was talking to her Biometals. The tempest caught Aile off guard and rapidly spun her around in the air, making her easy prey when Hurricaune shot another crescent of energy at her.

The energy splashed against Aile's chest armor, knocking her back against the wall. Fortunately, the attack didn't break through the thin Px-Armor, which was a wonder in and of itself. Aile stood up relatively unhurt, although slightly dazed.

Hurricaune, however, hadn't waited until she got up, and she appeared in front of Aile, arm blades whirling. Aile instinctively activated the Fx-Armor, and flinched as the blades cut into her knuckle busters with the tortured scream of grinding metal. And the growing tremors in her arms meant the blades were cutting deeper.

Aile hastily activated the knuckle busters' linear accelerators and pummeled Hurricaune with a brutal right hook, knocking the pseudoroid back with a hiss of pain.

Model F growled in both pain and anger as Aile beheld the deep, deep cuts those blades had left in Model F's weapons.

**Damn it all! I can't regenerate this kind of damage immediately, and I don't think my guns can shoot in their condition! **The flame Biometal exploded at the insult paid to his precious firearms.

Aile swapped for the Zx-Armor, although she'd probably have to rely on her pistol, since Hurricaune still wasn't getting close unless Aile was off-balance.

**If I had my original armor schematics… **Model F grumbled.

Aile had to ignore him, as Hurricaune had leapt at her again with her arm blades at the ready. This time though, Aile interposed the Zx-saber, and the blades locked with a crash that seemed to shake the earth.

Well, it seemed to shake to Aile at any rate, considering that Hurricaune lashed out with a violent snap kick the instant their blades connected. But whatever deity was watching had decided to be kind, and the sharp blade on Hurricaune's leg missed Aile. Of course, that didn't stop the kick itself from sending Aile halfway across the room.

**Recover quickly before she can attack again.**

But Aile was already springing upright even as Model H said it. Aile shot to the side as Hurricaune's arm blades met the ground where she'd landed a moment before.

**Now Aile! Strike!**

Aile made the motion of swinging Model L's halberd even as she shifted to the Lx-Armor. The halberd appeared in her hands, encased in swirling blue energy, and Aile felt the temperature drop around her hands.

There was a resounding crash, and Aile gaped as the blade on Hurricaune's back seemed to extend out to meet her attack. The ice energy from her halberd splashed against the plasma blade with absolutely no effect.

**Aile!!**

Hurricaune spun around, her arm blades extended with the intention of scything through Aile's midsection. And Aile was too close to evade.

Without warning, there was a bright blue flash, and a sound akin to breaking glass, and Aile flew backwards to land on the ground with a dull thud. Hurricaune also seemed to have been hurled away as well.

**A-augh…**

"L! What happened!?"

**S-sorry. I couldn't help it. I had to protect you. But…**

Aile realized what had happened. Model L had forcibly projected ice energy through the only conduit she had available to her besides her halberd: the Lx-Armor. L had supercooled the air around Aile in an attempt to stop Hurricaune's blades. The union of superheated plasma and supercooled air had produced an explosion of sorts, which had hurled the two combatants apart.

However, Model L had likely expended all of her energy in the attempt. Meaning that Aile lacked any ice-elemental weapon to slow Hurricaune with. And without any way to slow Hurricaune down…

**I'm sorry Aile. I thought to save you, but I've probably killed us.**

**Don't beat yourself up over it L.** Zero hardly sounded worried. **We'll think of something.**

Across the room, Hurricaune was pulling herself upright. And Aile, noting that her armor's shields were more or less gone, realized that Hurricaune's next attack would probably be fatal.

_Somebody had better think of one fast. I don't have any ideas, and Hurricaune doesn't look like she's going to wait for us to mull over all the possible solutions._

Aile was still pushing herself upright as Hurricaune made it upright and glared at her.

Model X, who had been uncharacteristically silent, spoke up. **Aile, may I try something?**

_I'm all ears X. What's the plan?_

**I don't have the time to explain it Aile. Please trust me.**

Hurricaune extended her blades and shot towards Aile.

_…Alright, it's yours X._

**X, what are you…?**

Aile shifted to the X-Armor, and X took the lead. The X-Buster leveled itself at the charging pseudoroid, but X didn't fire or charge.

_X, what are you waiting for!?_

X's replied with the last thing Aile had expected: a chuckle.

**I haven't used this system in centuries Aile. It's got to warm up first.**

_C-centuries!?_

X's armor turned a slightly lighter shade of blue.

Zero jerked. **X!? You're…!**

X fired. But instead of a plasma shot, a bolt of light blue energy shot out, catching Hurricaune in the gut and hurling her backwards. Hurricaune screeched in pain as ice energy coursed through her systems.

Aile and her Biometals didn't notice, as something far more important flashed across Aile's consciousness.

* * *

_-System Diagnostic-_

_-Biometal Armor Frame X-Type: System Update Detected-_

_-Variable Weapon System Online-_

_-Data Corruption in Weapon Copy System Database-_

_-Purging All Corrupted Data-_

_-All Corrupted Data Has Been Purged-_

_-Database Has Been Updated With Acquired Weapons-_

_-Listing Available Weapon Systems-_

**[Empty]**

**[Empty]**

**[Empty]**

**[Empty]**

**[Empty]**

**[Empty]**

**Volt Crescent (Pseudoroid Hurricaune) (Element: Wind/Electricity) Status: **_**PENDING**_

**Ice Arrow (Pseudoroid Lurerre) (Element: Water/Ice) Status: _ACTIVE _[SELECTED]**

_-Weapon Copy System Online and Functioning at 89 Percent Capacity-_

_-System Update Diagnostic Complete-_

* * *

**M-Master X!** Model P sounded stunned.

Aile didn't say anything, merely jerking slightly as Model X..._X_ gave her control of her body again.

**Hah! I should have known!** Zero laughed. **X, and **_**only**_** X, could have somehow awakened without my noticing it! When the hell did you wake up X?**

**About when the fight with Hurricaune started. That's when I started searching my systems for a variable element I could use, and came up with this. **

"X, what _is_ this?" Aile asked, looking at the now light-blue X-Armor.

**It's quite possibly my most useful capability: The Variable Weapon System. By scanning an enemies' projectile attack for a short while, or simply taking a hit from it, I can utilize and attack with anything thrown at me. As seen from my available weapons, we've already got Hurricaune's attack, although it'll take some time to integrate it properly. But I've had Lurerre's Ice Arrow since we got hit by it back in Area F, and you need an ice elemental weapon, right?**

"You mean to tell me that you had the ability to copy enemy weapon systems this whole time!?"

X paused. **No, actually. This ability wasn't integrated into the Biometals at all, Aile. I'm… not sure how, but somehow I reached back to my original system blueprints and capabilities, and pulled this out.**

**And why don't you have something from the other pseudoroids, if you can scan any weapon system?** Model L asked.

**I didn't know I had the system then. I have Lurerre's Ice Arrow because we were hit by one of them while battling her, and my system automatically scans and integrates any high-level attack that hits me. And I suspect it will work while I'm in any of the other armor forms.**

**Ahem.** Model H coughed gently. **Hurricaune appears to be recovering. Perhaps we should take what advantages we can get, and discuss this **_**after**_** we defeat her.**

"True enough." It was difficult, but Aile forced herself to focus on the pseudoroid before her, rather than her lighter colored armor.

**Do avoid the neck though Aile. The other half of my power is there.**

Aile unloaded ice arrows at the recovering pseudoroid, which punched through her armor and did severe damage to her electrical systems. Aile no longer had to dodge from extremely fast attacks, since Hurricaune no longer had the power to move that fast. Not while the ice energy ran rampant through her systems.

After a short while, Hurricane fell, and she didn't get back up.

"Kyahh… Not…Bad…human. But you're too late…All the Cyber Elves Model W needs are with Lord Serpent now… Do what you will with the humans still alive… It doesn't matter… Soon, Model W will awaken, and all of your efforts will be for naught!" With a final screech, Hurricaune exploded.

Model H floated into the smoke where Hurricaune had died, and emerged shortly after, glowing with green energy.

**I have it. The other half of my power, although I have yet to recall the password or my other memories. The people in the next room are ours to liberate. And then, **_**you**_**, **Model H shot a glare at X, **you have a great deal of explaining to do.**

**Such as why you didn't let **_**me **_**explode Hurricaune with my awesome techniques.** Zero muttered just loud enough to be heard. **I could have, you know.**

X pointedly ignored Zero. After all, some things just don't change.

* * *

AN: I don't know what the name of Hurricaune's weapon is (The pink crescents of energy she shoots from her neck blade just after firing off a cyclone), so I called it the Volt Crescent.

The technique Aile uses in this chapter is the _Tenretsujin_, which is basically the non-elemental uppercut slash. It appears in Megaman Zero 3. I've decided that to keep everything balanced, the initial techniques that Aile learns are going to be non-elemental.

And the earlier reference? It's in chapter 12. See if you can spot it.


	18. Area K Sucks

Okay, this took way too long to get out of the way. My apologies, but in all fairness, it wasn't entirely my fault. I've decided it was a combination of really annoying incidents that led to this really late update.

First of all, a word of advice: always keep a backup of your files on a memory disk or something. That way, when the bloody computer gets wiped by a really nasty virus, you've still got your stuff.

That was in January, and my dad and I spent the better part of two weeks fixing the computer and recovering what files we could. After that, my writing of this story was put on hold while I tried to recover all the stuff I'd written down for the other stories I had planned. Fortunately, I've managed to get most of it.

The worst part was when I started on this chapter, and realized I'd lost my train of thought, so to speak. So I spent the better part of the last month and a half picking at this chapter, adding stuff here, modifying something there, and so on. If you see some odd ideas here and there, this is the reason.

As I mentioned a chapter back or so, if you see something wrong with the wording or the flow of the chapter, let me know, and I'll see if I can't fix it. I _think_ I got everything meshed together, but I could have missed something.

So without further ado, I give you the long anticipated (I hope) eighteenth chapter. Hopefully you've all stuck around hoping I'd update sooner or later. Mark my words, I _will_ finish this

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Eighteen

Area K Sucks

* * *

"I can't believe that this is the only solution you've got, Fleuve."

"You can refuse to accept it all you like Aile," the scientist shot back, "but since you've steadfastly refused any more of my requests to analyze the Biometals, I have little data to work with regarding them. Until I have more data, I'm afraid this is the only practical solution."

Aile's eye twitched madly. She'd left the Biometals in her room, so it was just her and Fleuve arguing in the corridor. She didn't have X and the rest to back her up. "The Biometals aren't exactly fond of being analyzed by you Fleuve, and if I'm going to be fighting with them, I'd rather not have them mad at me for that. And how exactly do you expect me to obtain that many e-crystals in the time frame we have available to us? It's not as if I can ask Serpent to call a timeout so I can hunt down some random mavericks or do some odd jobs for a week or so. Why can't you just loan me them from the Guardians' stockpile, which I _know_ you have somewhere, and I'll pay you back later?"

"I told you already, we need those. We can't just loan them out on a whim."

"And you call repairing the Biometals so they can help me save the world a _whim_!?"

"…Are you two _quite_ finished?"

Aile and Fleuve turned at the voice. Standing in the bridge doorway was a slightly disheveled, very tired looking blond girl clad in both a night robe and a seemingly visible aura of anger.

It was Prairie, and she did not look happy.

"May I point out to the both of you that it is currently 11:37 PM, also known as very late at night." Prairie growled. "You two may be capable of arguing at this hour, but I'm quite sure that the _rest_ of the airship, and probably the _base_ as well, are trying to get some shuteye. At the very least, _I_ am trying to sleep, as I have had a long day, and you two are not…helping…one…bit."

She emphasized the last few words, and Aile shuddered. Prairie seemed to be _really_ pissed off, yet her voice didn't rise above that threatening hiss. She wondered what Prairie sounded like when she felt like biting someone's head off, then decided she'd rather not know.

"If you want to continue this conversation, by all means do so, provided that I 'relocate' you first to the bottom of the nearest ventilator shaft. If not, then _shut up_ and let me sleep."

Fleuve took one look at Prairie's face, decided that arguing further would amount to a very bad idea, and walked down the hallway towards his room. Aile looked sheepishly at the Guardian Commander.

"S-sorry Prairie. I didn't mean to…"

"Spare me. I overheard most of the conversation anyways. I can understand why you'd feel the need to argue about it, but couldn't you have kept it at a better time?"

Aile averted her eyes. "Sorry Prairie."

Prairie waved it off, her expression softening slightly. "Don't worry about it. I've dealt with worse in my time. Did Fleuve really need that many?"

"Huh?"

Prairie sighed. "E-crystals."

"Oh. Yea, but he says it's for all of them, not just one or two."

Prairie straightened up slightly. Aile noticed that without her hat, Prairie wasn't all that tall. She was about the same height as Aile, who was not extraordinarily gifted with height to begin with.

"Well, Fleuve seems to forget that _I_ am the one in charge of the Guardians' finances, not him. And I say that you and X and the other Biometals have been working hard enough to qualify for a little bonus. Not to mention that I have a bunch of funds left over from when Giro was around, and you're the one they'd go to anyways."

Aile's eyes widened. "R-really? You'll let me have it?"

"You already have it Aile. I anticipated that this would come up, so I wired more than enough crystals to your account yesterday. You can get them from the Trans-Server. Now go to bed." Prairie pointed imperiously. "You need more rest than anyone else on this ship, so go get some sleep. The lab won't go anywhere; you can get the Biometals repaired tomorrow."

Aile nodded slowly and headed off towards Giro's room, Prairie vanishing to return to her own.

As Aile walked down the hallway, she passed a drowsy cyber-elf who's name she didn't quite remember. As she passed, she whispered to it.

"Tell Nuppie to meet me in my room in an hour, and to bring as many of her friends as she can. And keep it quiet."

The sleepy cyber-elf roused immediately, winked at her, and shot off.

Aile may be stable and level-headed for the most part, but she had been raised for ten years by _Giro_. Unbeknownst to Prairie and the other Guardians, Giro hadn't really changed that much after he took her under his wing. Given the right conditions, she was just as wild and unpredictable as he was, but she had the capacity to be a lot more subtle about it. And best of all, she knew it, while Prairie, Fleuve, and the rest did not.

A rare smirk found it's way onto Aile's face as she returned to her room.

* * *

_That took entirely too much time for nothing in return._

The figure growled mentally as he slipped through the shadows onto Guardian HQ. He'd looked through the Resistance database, and although he'd discovered some of the data he'd set out to find, he'd found absolutely nothing regarding the location of Ciel's final secret lab. He knew without a doubt that Ciel's personal files might give him some insight into the hidden abilities of the Biometals. But she'd been very, very careful about any data that might lead someone to her lab's location.

_The only thing that might have the location on it now is the sealed data disk Aile brought back from Area F. And not even _I_ can get into that without help. _Damn_ it Ciel._ He absently cursed the Resistance scientist._ Zero and the Resistance over-trained you if you've gone to such lengths to hide your tracks from your own allies._

He grumbled to himself as he wandered through the halls. Unless he could find some trace he'd overlooked, the trail would go cold before he could find it.

_"Psst. Excuse me."_

He froze. Had he been spotted? He turned around. There was a cyber elf looking at him, although not even she could get a clear view of him in the shadows he was currently hiding in. At least, he hoped she couldn't.

_I'd better not arouse suspicion. _"Yes? Can I help you?"

_"Can you keep an eye on this hallway and whistle or something if somebody's coming? We're trying to do something _secret_."_ The elf drew out the last word.

He sighed in silent relief that the cyber elf hadn't recognized him.

"Um, sure, provided it won't take all night. I have work to do before dawn."

_"That's fine. Thanks a lot mister."_

The cyber elf gave a polite bow, and floated off.

The figure stood there for a moment, looking down the corridor the little cyber elf had vanished into, then smiled.

_Well, it's not like I have anything better to do tonight. I can vanish easily once they're close to finished._Ducking further into the shadows of the hallway, he proceeded to keep watch.

_Besides, this promises to be entertaining.

* * *

  
_

Guardian HQ roused as morning came. The massive airship was more or less fully repaired, but Colbor had decided that it was time the airship was outfitted with new systems to replace the aging ones, and Prairie and Silure had reluctantly agreed. Silure was also poking his head here and there to get ideas for giving his precious airship an official name besides "Guardian HQ", although he was playing that fairly close to the chest.

Fleuve growled and waved aside a handful of cyber elves wandering around his head. There were a lot of cyber elves cluttered around the bridge access corridor, probably waiting for Prairie to wake up. While waiting, they had apparently decided to annoy him instead.

Fleuve had just forced his way through them and was about to enter his lab when the bridge access hissed open and Prairie stepped out.

"Ah, Fleuve. I'd like to talk to you for a moment." Prairie stepped forward, smiling faintly as the cyber elves squealed cheerfully and clustered around her.

"Is it about the issue Aile and I were…discussing last night?" Fleuve asked carefully. He didn't want to anger her again.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is Fleuve." Prairie gazed calmly at the scientist. "As I mentioned to Aile last night, _I_ am in charge of the finances of this organization, not you. It is not your decision as to what we spend them on."

"B-but Prairie!" Fleuve stammered. "The total amount we'd need to repair all of the Biometals to peak condition once they've recovered all their power is roughly equal to 20 percent of our active funds! We could almost buy a brand new _carrier_ for that much! And before I forget Prairie," Fleuve looked his commander in the eye, "with all due respect, you _don't_ have total control over the Guardians' funds. That control is shared between you and Commander Colbor."

"And I gave her free reign to do whatever she liked with them Fleuve." To the scientist's surprise, Colbor suddenly appeared behind Prairie, drawing a handful of cyber elves into orbit around him. "And even if I hadn't, I agree with her on this one."

Fleuve blinked. There was no other way onto the bridge besides the bridge access, and the only place Colbor could have come from, besides the bridge itself, was Prairie's room.

He suddenly recalled Prairie's anger the night before.

_Were they…!?_

"I arrived an hour ago to discuss tactics with Commander Prairie in the event of future air battles." Colbor smoothly cut across Fleuve's thoughts, almost as if the veteran commander could read his mind. "And in regard to funds, you have little to worry about. Yes, repairing the Biometals will take a significant chunk of our current funds, but we have a few hidden caches that we can call upon if we really need them. Besides, the only things we really spend them on are making repairs, outfitting new soldiers, and making the kinds of upgrades that Lat's going to make to the HQ."

Fleuve flinched, along with a couple of Guardian soldiers nearby. Not without reason.

Lateral, or Lat for short, was a scientist who was permanently stationed at the main base. She was also a genius, if something of an airhead, and was well-known for being able to build random contraptions out of just about anything. Colbor had put her in charge of R&D weapons division about twelve years ago, and she'd been there ever since, designing and building just about anything that came to her eccentric, but brilliant mind.

She was to the Main Base what Cedre was to the HQ: a barely contained menace. And for good reason, considering that the two had roomed together at the base for a couple years before Prairie finally decided to separate the two before they accidentally annihilated the base. Like attracts like, it would seem. In fact, the reason that the airship has such a well stocked armory is because Lateral had made all those weapons for Cedre before she was moved to the HQ. Cedre's beloved rocket launcher had been a gift from Lateral, and Lat was the only person who didn't feel intimidated by Cedre's presence.

"And just what does Lat want to do to this ship anyways? Besides turning it into a flying weapon of mass destruction?"

Colbor shrugged. "Oh, nothing really extravagant. Just refitting the armor, installing a new shielding system, overhauling the plasma cannons, retrofitting the rail-cannons to fire more powerful rounds, replacing the light machine guns with something with a bit more kick, adding a second reactor, adding extra plating around the engines…" Colbor smirked. "Basically, a complete overhaul. Nothing too extreme."

Prairie chuckled, and Fleuve wondered how Colbor could say that with a straight face.

"Anyways, I left her with Silure outside, and they should be able to get most of the outfitting done by tomorrow night. Lat's a _really _fast worker. She might even be able to give Silure ideas for a name to call this heap, although anything besides 'Guardian HQ' is fine with me."

Fleuve gave the two commanders a look, finally decided it wasn't an argument worth pursuing, and turned back to the door to his lab.

"Do whatever you want. I don't agree with some of it, but I suppose I don't really have much choice in the matter. I guess all I can do is see if I can find some alternative for the Biometals so you two don't needlessly throw away-"

Anything else Fleuve intended to say was silenced when the door to his lab opened and the room seemed to fall out on him.

* * *

_Ouch._

The figure winced as Aile's plan came to fruition. He was hiding in the air vent just over the hallway, which was as close to the bridge as he could get undetected.

Of course, right now, he was more interested in the exchange below, which not only allowed him to sneak close to the bridge without being heard, but was also highly entertaining.

* * *

Prairie and Colbor blinked in astonishment as a tidal wave of energy crystals poured out of Fleuve's lab, right on top of the startled scientist. In fact, most of the soldiers nearby were staring as well.

The cyber elves abruptly collapsed in helpless laughter as Fleuve finally forced his way out of the pile, electing them some looks, but Prairie knew better. She looked down the corridor, and finally spotted the mastermind of the incident, leaning against a bulkhead and wearing a very satisfied smirk.

"I hope that's enough Fleuve!" Aile remarked loudly, gesturing to the pile of energy crystals she and the cyber elves had spent half the night packing into the lab. Then, ignoring the look of pure evil Fleuve shot her, Aile exited the area, hoping to catch up on some of the sleep she'd missed last night. The Biometals approached the scene sheepishly, although Zero and Model F seemed quite pleased with the results.

As Aile walked away, Prairie suddenly remembered exactly how troublesome Giro had been, and how long Aile had been living under his wing.

_I have got to keep a better eye on that girl in the future, whatever good that will do.

* * *

_

Three hours later, the bridge was somewhat busier than it had been before. At least, that was what it seemed like to Aile. In addition to Prairie, Fleuve, and Tulip, who was on-duty at the time, there were a handful of engineers taking apart Marguerite's console and replacing several components.

Nuppie was also there, and the little cyber elf wore a very worried look.

"Aile, I'm glad you're here. A slight situation has arisen, and I need your help for it."

"Um, okay." Aile glanced uneasily at Fleuve. It had only been a few hours since the…incident, and Fleuve had an odd look about him.

"Aile, listen. You probably don't know about it, but cyber elves have the ability to keep in touch with each other using cyberspace no matter where they are. In fact, on of the main reasons that cyber elves were so sought after long ago is because you could use one cyber elf to acquire the knowledge of all the cyber elves, with some limits. You follow me?"

Aile nodded slowly, sparing a glance at Nuppie, who still looked worried for some reason. What was going on?

"Well, Nuppie has just been contacted by two of her old friends, a Nurse-type elf named Nubtan and an Animal-type named Turbo. Like Nuppie, they sallied forth with Zero a long time ago. According to Nuppie, they've been hiding out underground in Area K for a while, along with a couple dozen other cyber elves. And apparently, Serpent has figured out where they are."

That explained Nuppie's look. Her friends were in trouble.

"But Prairie, why exactly is he after them? According to Hurricaune, Serpent already has enough cyber elves to awaken Model W. Why would he waste time going after more?"

_"He knows he's up against Zero and X, at the very least." _Nuppie spoke up. _"Turbo, Nubtan, and I ran with Zero a long time ago, particularly when he faced off against a false version of X. Serpent is probably trying to find a way to beat both X and Zero, and for that, he needs someone who fought with/against both of them. Somehow, he found out that Nubtan and Turbo fit the bill."_

"That, or Hurricaune lied to you, in which case, Serpent still needs more cyber elves." Prairie finished. "Either way, we need to prevent Serpent from getting his hands on them. So I want you to head into Area K, defeat the mavericks looking for those cyber elves, and bring them back safely. You'll be taking Nuppie with you; she knows exactly where to find them, so I expect you to keep her out of harm's way. Fleuve, the Biometals?"

Fleuve stepped up. "I was able to repair most of the damage done to Model H, since you have recovered both halves of it's data. The other Biometals I have yet to work on. All of them are waiting at the transerver for you."

"That'll have to do. I'll get going." Aile turned to go.

"Aile, wait a second."

Aile paused and turned to Fleuve.

"Do you know who Lateral is?"

Aile shook her head after a moment.

"Lateral is the base's chief weapons designer and developer. She's a bit…eccentric."

"She's also in charge of refitting the HQ, Aile." Prairie spoke up. "And she's an old friend of Cedre. In other words, along with Giro, Cedre and Lateral were the major troublemakers around the base, but in their case, it was a whole lot worse. I separated them more than a decade ago before something bad happened, putting Cedre on the HQ and leaving Lat at the base."

"And in a very short time, Lateral is going to be crawling all over this vessel to install enough weapons to 'destroy the world', as Commander Colbor likes to say." Fleuve continued. "I pointed out, and Prairie agrees with me, that a meeting of Cedre and Lateral should be avoided if at all possible."

Aile had a faint suspicion where this was heading, but surely Prairie wouldn't do that to her. Would she?

"To put it bluntly Aile, we need Cedre to be gone from this vessel while Lateral makes her upgrades. In addition, Cedre has never been put into the field, largely because Prairie has never gotten around to finding someone to administer a field examination. However, since the incident in Area G and the battle atop the HQ, Cedre seems to have taken a shine to you, Aile."

Aile's jaw dropped, but before she could protest, the door behind her hissed open, revealing the person in question.

Oddly enough, Cedre almost seemed underequipped for someone of her…temperament. Her normal armament consisted of her giant rocket launcher and a backpack with several additional rockets in it. All she'd added in this case were two plasma pistols and a bundle of demolition charges. It was a small addition to the already impressive firepower her launcher represented, if one were to ignore the fact that her launcher was bad enough all by itself.

"Cedre is going with you, Aile." Fleuve continued smoothly, ignoring the shocked looks that everyone on the bridge gave him. "And you get the enviable task of keeping an eye on her, as well as observing her abilities in the field."

And then the evil Guardian scientist actually _smirked_. "Good luck. I suspect you'll need it."

* * *

**Crap, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die…** Model F hid behind Aile as Cedre annihilated another maverick with her pistols. Nuppie let out a chuckle, causing the fire Biometal to glare at her.

Aile ignored them. "Anyone know what exactly this field examination is?"

**Well…** Zero paused for a moment. **From what I can recall, it's a study to make sure that a Guardian is capable of holding his or her own on the field of battle. To see how they hold up, rookies are sent into small-time battle situations, somewhat like this one, along with a veteran soldier who monitors their progress as well as helping them out if they screw up.**

"And since when am I a veteran soldier?" Aile asked, ignoring Cedre's whoop of excitement as she blew up another maverick.

**You're not. **Zero remarked bluntly.** I suspect Prairie didn't have the heart to…**_**inflict**_** Cedre's examination on anyone who didn't volunteer for it, and nobody did. Not that I blame them.**

"And this doesn't apply to me…because?"

**Two reasons. First, this is likely Fleuve's payback for dropping all those E-crystals on him, which I thought was a nice touch, by the way. Second, as Fleuve said, Cedre seems to like you. I bet Prairie figures that she'll listen to you a bit, considering that you're the one who asked her to join you in Area G against Fistleo.**

"Swell. Somehow, I knew that one would come back and bite me at some point." Aile grumbled, absently vaporizing a flying enemy trying to sneak up behind Cedre with her X-Buster.

Nuppie giggled again, causing a groan from the other Biometals.

* * *

Prairie watched and listened to Aile talk with her Biometals as she and Cedre washed away all the mavericks in their way as they drove further into Area K, which housed a volcano in it's center about 50 Kilometers from Innerpeace. Under normal circumstances, that might be a bit too close for comfort, but there were several systems in place around the city to protect it in case the volcano erupted, which it sometimes did.

According to Nuppie, the cyber elves were hidden well beneath the surface, very close to the volcano. It was probably because it offered them some protection from accidental discovery.

"Twenty crystals says Cedre kills more mavericks!"

"Oh yea? Well, thirty says she _doesn't_!"

_"Hah! Like that'll happen!"_

Prairie groaned and gently massaged her forehead. Word had spread across the airship of Aile's trial by fire, so to speak, and a fair number of the soldiers not working on the ship, as well as a handful of cyber elves, were clustered around the viewscreen making bets on the outcome. Not all of those bets were pleasant, but then there was Cedre to consider. It was like something out of a movie, rather than a serious (and fairly dangerous) mission.

It wasn't something Prairie encouraged, but she didn't exactly _discourage_ it either. Although at the moment, she was seriously considering it.

"Ma'am, Aile and Cedre are approaching the Slither Inc dig site." Tulip reported. "There is a high probability that we will lose their comm. signal once they go underground."

"Try and bounce the signal off Nuppie's cyberspace carrier wave. If that doesn't work, then we'll just have to observe their location and hope for the best."

"Understood Ma'am. I'll keep you posted."

* * *

**Cedre!**

"Bweh?" The wild guardian gave Model H an odd look as she waved smoke from her rocket launcher.

**As this is considered a test, I feel I should give you fair warning. We are likely to run into much tougher opposition later on, so instead of wasting your limited rockets on these pitiful little scraps of metal, conserve your ammunition for opponents that need it. Shooting rockets at everything that moves and relying on secondary weaponry against tougher foes is a very easy way to die.**

"But Aile doesn't conserve her big guns…" the Guardian almost whined as she reluctantly slung her launcher.

Nuppie, who was floating behind Aile, chuckled quietly. Model H ignored her. **Aile has a valid excuse. Most of her weapons have inexhaustible ammunition, and those that do can regenerate energy in a short time, such as my electrical bursts. The exception is X's Variable Weapon System, which cannot regenerate certain ammunition at this time.**

"Right, what he said." Aile paused. "Wait, what? I thought X's VWS could fire anything considered a ranged weapon."

**At full strength, it can. However, while you performed your little…transgression against Fleuve, X and I had a chat regarding that system, and…well…**

**My X-Buster core is missing.** X admitted sheepishly. **That core contained my only Mass-Fabrication Module, among other things. My VWS can use energy weapons easily enough, but without that buster core, I can't generate solid ammunition, not to mention some of my X-Buster's other tricks.**

"I see." Aile paused to blow up another small mechaniloid, electing a growl from Cedre, who had targeted the same enemy with her pistols. "And how does this affect your combat abilities X?"

**It doesn't. With the VWS, my abilities are unchanged from when you first acquired me, only I can change to use different weapons on the fly, much like you change model armors. At the moment, you only have the two: Lurrere's Ice Arrow, and Hurricaune's Volt Crescent, both of which use energy to fire. You **_**could**_** scan Cedre's launcher and get the data stored into the VWS, but until I recover that buster core or fashion a spare Mass-Fabricator in it's place, you won't be able to use it.**

"Whatever works." Aile and Cedre finally halted their rampage across Area K. In front of them was a large hole in the ground, and far off in the distance was what appeared to be a low mountain with smoke pouring out of the top.

Model L took one look, and gestured to Cedre. **You first.**

Aile ignored her and jumped in, swapping to the Hx-Armor and staying close to the wall in case she needed to stop in a hurry, Cedre waited a moment, then leapt in behind her.

Aile spotted the platform beneath her, and landed neatly on it with a loud clang. Shortly after she did, Cedre touched down behind her.

"Where are we?" Aile looked around. They were on a platform suspended about five or six feet above a pool of magma, with no visible exit in sight. "Terrific. A dead end."

_"Don't worry."_ Nuppie drifted into view. _"There's a switch hidden in the lava that drains this chamber and allows access to a deeper one. I'll go hit the switch."_

"W-wait! Nuppie!" But the cyber-elf had already floated downwards.

**Don't worry Aile. **Model F spoke up. **She's a cyber-elf. She can take it. And magma, asides from being really, really hot, is relatively harmless.**

**'Really, really hot', and 'harmless' don't exactly fit in the same sentence F. **Model L remarked.

**They do for me.**

**And we're not you, in case you noticed.**

And then, the lava moved, in direct defiance of natural law.

_"Huh?" _Nuppie stopped at the movement, just as what appeared to be a claw made of magma reared up out of the lava and seized the startled cyber-elf. _"Kyaa!"_

**Nuppie!** Zero yelled.

The magma surged upwards, revealing a body attached to the claw.

Aile gaped. The magma had formed a giant…_creature_…of some kind. "W-what is that!?"

**A Lava Demon… I haven't seen one of those in a long time.** X remarked calmly. **Aile, this is a very powerful mechaniloid that can manipulate magma to a certain degree. However, the device it uses to control the magma cannot withstand ultra-high temperatures indefinitely, and it must emerge momentarily to cool off every other minute or so. Destroy that controller, and the demon is no more.**

Cedre coolly drew her rocket launcher as Aile engaged the X-Armor. "What about Nuppie?"

**She'll be fine. Cyber-elves are tougher than they look, and Nuppie's tougher than most. At least, as far as I know. **Model L remarked.

**Sounds right to me, L. We should still hurry though.** Zero growled. **I rather like Nuppie, and she might get angry at us if we take too long.**

The lava demon surged towards Aile and Cedre, and the duo leveled their weapons at the creature.

* * *

"And here she comes. Time to put my plan in action."

A terminal lit up. Shortly after, a program was triggered, and activated.

"You're good, according to Master Serpent. But you're not good enough to evade this trap, little girl. Even if you kill me, you won't survive for it to matter. Enjoy what little time you have left."

A harsh laugh echoed through the chamber as the trap was set.

* * *

Aile blinked in astonishment as Cedre's burns vanished almost instantly. "Wow. That's amazing."

"It's wasteful." Cedre grumbled as she absently put away the empty can. "E-Tanks are almost non-existent these days. Sure, they're useful, but they're almost impossible to reuse. I always keep one on me, but I never thought I'd actually _need_ it."

They'd killed the magma creature, but not before Cedre had received an ultra-heated claw to her side, which had done considerable damage, since Cedre was only wearing standard-issue Guardian light armor. Cedre had promptly retaliated with a point-blank rocket shot, giving Aile an opening in which to deliver the fatal blow, but she'd still suffered a very nasty burn. Of course, it was nothing a handy E-Tank couldn't cure.

Anyways, Nuppie activated the switch hidden in the lava, causing it to drain away and allowing the duo further access into the tunnels.

"Quick question Aile." Cedre spoke up as she blew apart some kind of mechaniloid. "What exactly are we doing down in this hellhole anyways?"

Aile jerked, almost missing her opponent with the Zx-Saber. Aile turned and regarded the wild Guardian with a fascinated look. "What?"

**Did you pay attention at all during the briefing, however brief it was?**

_"She wasn't at the briefing, Zero. She heard that you were taking her with you, and promptly took off to gather her weapons."_

Aile sighed. "There's a bunch of cyber elves down here. Serpent's found them, and we're supposed to get them before he does."

"More of those floating light bulbs, huh?" Cedre smirked as Nuppie growled at her. "Eh, whatever." Cedre took the lead, striding towards the door ahead of them, which obediently opened for her. "As long as I get to blow up stuff, I don't mind rescuing…"

**Cedre, HALT!** Model P yelled abruptly, badly startling Aile and the other Biometals.

Cedre jerked to a halt, just as her leg broke the almost invisible beam of light beyond the door.

"Uh oh."

A distant boom echoed through the room. Aile and Cedre turned to look behind them, down the dark, dark tunnel that led off somewhere else.

A tiny, but growing pinprick of light was now visible.

**We are standing in one of the natural lava tunnels that this volcano possesses.** Model P intoned gravely. **The tunnel had been sealed off to allow Serpent's soldiers access without risking them to the magma. I suspect that the tunnel seal has just been breached.**

The earth began to tremble beneath the two as they stared dumbly down the ancient lava tube, which was becoming brighter and brighter.

**Run, you fools!** Model P finally snapped. **Lest you be consumed by the earth's burning fury!**

Aile and Cedre took one look at each other, then ran like hell.

* * *

"Seismic activity detected." Tulip suddenly spoke. "Seismic anomalies match those projected by a volcano prior to eruption."

"W-what!?" Prairie gasped. "Aile and Cedre are in the volcano's lava tubes! If it erupts… Tulip! Can we contact them!?"

"I can try, Ma'am."

"Do it! I don't care how, but contact them! Tell them to get out of there, _now_!"

* * *

Unbeknownst to Prairie, Aile and Cedre were already aware of the danger they were in. The volcano, roused by the explosive charge placed within it's depths by Serpent's underlings, was awakening.

Magma poured into the network of underground tunnels in an attempt to divert some of the pressure. One of these tunnels had been sealed off by means of several extremely thick walls, along with several more within the tunnel itself, to allow Serpent's minions access.

No material in the world was really capable of staving off the full force of a volcano's fury indefinitely. No _known_ material, that is. The walls of the tunnel were designed with multiple layers of high-temperature materials, allowing the workers within enough time to evacuate in the event of an eruption.

The initial layer of these walls, however, had been breached by several well-placed explosives, allowing the magma to surge into the area where Aile and Cedre were now running for their lives.

**Model H, take the rear! Figure out how much time we have!** Model P yelled as he merged with Aile. H nodded and dropped back, scanning the distant threat as Aile used P's incredible agility to flee, grabbing Cedre as she did so. Cedre didn't complain, considering that she didn't have dash thrusters. For all her quirks, she knew not to screw around in a situation like this.

In front of Aile was one of the walls used to contain the magma flow, just barely visible through the horde of mechaniloids installed specifically to slow her progress. Under normal circumstances, Aile might have hesitated before tackling such a large number of enemies in such a confined area, but she didn't have time to think about it. She just charged through them, ignoring the hail of enemy fire. Cedre, clinging to Aile's back, shot back as best she could with one of her pistols.

Model H shot up next to them. **Aile, there's a door built into the lower part of the magma barrier. We have twenty seconds before the magma hits that wall. Don't be on this side of it when it does!**

Aile risked a glance behind her.

The magma surging through the tunnel was now visible, and it was gaining rapidly. It motivated her. She ran faster.

_"I'll get the door! Hurry Aile!"_ Nuppie shot forward like an errant plasma bolt.

Aile drove through the mechaniloids in a frenzy, and dashed like mad for the distant door.

Twenty meters to go.

Ten.

Five.

_One._

_"Dive Aile!!"_ Nuppie screamed as she triggered the door.

Aile, with Cedre clinging to her back, dove through the opening as it slammed shut, mere moments before the magma slammed into the barrier.

**Keep moving! That wall won't last forever!**

Climbing to her feet, Aile shot forwards again as she tried to ignore the barrier groaning before the weight and heat being applied to it.

* * *

"Where are they!?"

Tulip ignored the frantic tone in Prairie's voice. "They're rapidly approaching barrier 6, as far as I can tell. Currently, they appear to be following the tunnel towards the upper part of the volcano's upper magma chamber. Based on the volcano's current level of activity, if they make it to the core access passageway beyond Area K-4 in the next 50 minutes, they should be able to make it out safely before the rising levels in the primary magma chamber cut them off."

"Do you think they can make it out safely?"

"Um…" Tulip paused for a moment. Prairie relied on Tulip for her accurate, logical information and unflappable nature in situations like these, not her personal opinions.

"I…I don't know Ma'am," She finally replied, "but if they can make it past the heavily reinforced barrier 7, they should be able to. The problem is that the distance between barrier 6 and barrier 7 is nearly 12 Kilometers. Given the magma's composition, I estimate a speed of…50 Km/hr. Aile can probably run at…32 Km/hr, but her dash thrusters can accelerate her to 70 Km/hr for a brief moment, and if she uses it as much as she can, she'll even out at about…52 Km/hr. Cedre, on the other hand, has all of her equipment on her, so she'll probably be able to move at about…26 Km/hr. If Aile opts to carry Cedre, which she likely will, she'll only be able to average…42 Km/hr."

(AN: The average human runs at 27 Km/hr, and dedicated sprinters can run at about 39 Km/hr.)

Tulip paused as she ran through some calculations in her head, then shook her head. "I don't know, Ma'am. I _think_ they can make it if the barriers hold up, so long as there are no other obstacles in the way."

Prairie nodded and observed the viewscreen, trying hard to silence the voice of doubt in her head.

* * *

Aile dropped Cedre and fell to her knees gasping for breath, trying to ignore the barrier she'd just passed through as it's metallic surfaces began to glow a dull orange/red as the heat of the magma transmitted through it.

**We don't have much time before the magma breaches this barrier.** Model H warned.

"We're in trouble then." Cedre grimaced. "Check that out."

The tunnel they were in, which might be referred to as Area K-4, extended for a long, long distance, disappearing around a corner about a Kilometer in.

That tunnel was not only filled to the brim with mechaniloids, but there were several blocks and pits just barely visible through the maverick horde, just begging to block her progress.

_"Can we make it through that?" _Nuppie asked worriedly.

**Not without some kind of plan, and we don't have time for that.** Zero growled. **And punching through is out of the question. It would take too long.**

"We have to try, at least." Aile pulled herself to her feet with some difficulty.

**Model H.** X suddenly spoke up. **Have you recovered your flight systems yet?**

The others brightened up quickly, but H shook his head. **No. They are mostly repaired, yes, but my access to them is still sealed. I cannot use them.**

**Well, there's an idea X. Only problem is how the hell are we supposed to convince H to wake up? **Zero groused intently and swore under his breath, only to be gently 'pushed' aside by X.

**I can handle this. I may not like it, but I believe it will work. Aile, if you will permit Model H to take over in a minute.**

Aile and H blinked in surprise, but Aile slowly nodded.

**I don't understand how you intend to release my power in such a short span of…**

**SAGE HARPUIA!!** X roared, causing everybody in range to flinch. X, quite simply, didn't yell. **You will come forth and assist us this instant!!**

Model H shuddered for an instant. Zero blinked, then gaped in surprise.

**Oh. Well damn, I should have thought of that. Now I feel really stupid.**

_"Huh?"_

**Harpuia is the biggest tightwad of all the **_**Shitennou**_**, even more so that Phantom. I may make fun of him for it, but he might just be the most honorable being on this earth. He **_**literally**_** cannot disregard a direct order from the one, true X, especially when he brandishes his authority like that.  
**

**Knowing full well, as you just said, that I simply could not disobey.** The green Biometal formerly known as Model H replied. Then, he gave a faint bow. **Master X, I am here. I will assist you to the best of my ability.**

Without warning, a stream of magma shot from the corner of the barrier. The heat-resistant metals were starting to melt, and the barrier was beginning to falter before the weight of the magma behind it.

**You know, we could **_**really **_**use that flight system of yours Harpy. Yea, right about **_**now**_**.**

**Be quiet Zero.**

Harpuia took over the instant Aile changed to the Hx-Armor, and activated his high-mobility flight boosters.

Pausing only to grab Cedre, they bolted down the tunnel, completely ignoring the mavericks beneath them.

Now, they had a shot at surviving this.

* * *

"Heh. So much for that."

Flammole, the Model F pseudoroid, chuckled as the vibrations in the earth, which he'd long since identified as the armored form of the girl Serpent was having such trouble with, abruptly vanished.

"Shaddup, ya annoyin' lot." He kicked the container at his feet, which contained a number of very angry cyber elves. "Ya might as well save yer strength. You'll need it when Lord Serpent uses ya for his Project Haven."

Lava didn't pose a threat to Flammole. All he had to do was dig into the earth and collapse a significant amount of his tunnel behind him, and he'd be safe. Sure, it might take a week or so for him to move around without running into a magma tube, but Serpent probably wouldn't mind, not when he'd taken out the annoying Chosen that had been plaguing him.

Grabbing the cyber elf container, he drilled into the ground and angled upwards, but as he did, he felt something in the earth.

Vibrations. Right outside the door that led to the very chamber he'd just vacated.

But that girl couldn't have possibly survived…right?

Flammole altered course and made for the chamber once again. He had to be sure.

* * *

The door opened and promptly closed, and a green blur shot through during the interval.

Harpuia landed, and gave Aile back control of herself. Aile promptly dropped Cedre and collapsed, gasping for breath.

"That…sucked." She finally managed to say. Slowly, she sat upright. "Harpuia, doesn't your armor come with some kind of breathing device? I _do_ need to breath, and flying that fast makes it really hard."

**My apologies. It has been too long since I soared the skies, and I neglected to take your needs into account. It won't happen again.**

"Good to hear…" Aile stood upright. "How much time do we have?"

**We just passed several reinforced barriers. I estimate we have at least 18 minutes until this room is compromised. We should make what headway we can.**

_"Wait!"_

Aile turned. Nuppie was floating there with a worried expression, her head turning left and right as though listening for something.

"What is it Nuppie?"

_"They're here… Nubtan and the rest are somewhere around here!"_

Nuppie looked around, searching for her kin. She knew without a doubt that they were close, but she couldn't figure out exactly where. But why? And why hadn't Nubtan responded to her queries?

**Hmm…** Harpuia cast his dedicated analysis systems around, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

**I have a bad feeling about this.** Zero grumbled. **In all my adventures, I've yet to come across an empty room that was actually empty.**

Aile had to agree with him. She'd observed the same phenomenon herself.

Nuppie and Harpuia continued scanning about while Cedre made sure her weapons were up to scratch. After a moment, Nuppie finally spotted something.

_"Got them! The're above us…but they're coming down towards us. But if they knew we were here, why didn't they let me know?"_

The ceiling suddenly rumbled, and a red-armored form fell through it. "Hmm. So ya did survive."

**I knew it!** Model F yelled, causing Aile and the rest to look at him. **I knew I felt something familiar. Aile! That guy has the other half of my power!**

"A Model F pseudoroid, huh?"

"That's me. I'm Flammole. I'll be the one to dig graves for ya."

**Hmm…**

Cedre readied her launcher, but Zero floated over to her and muttered something to her. Cedre gave him an odd look, then nodded.

Flammole ignored them. "I hear you've been givin' Lord Serpent a good deal of trouble. I thought ya was just annoyin', but you're really somethin' else! And I went to a whole lotta trouble to set up that there lava trap for ya."

**Wait a minute. **_**You**_** set that trap up?** Zero asked warily, floating back to Aile.

"Ya, I did. What part did ya miss?"

Zero growled. **Well that means Serpent screwed up twice now.**

"Eh?"

**You pseudoroids are supposed to have a similar mindset for the Biometal you're bound with, as far as I can tell, in order to be more efficient. But Fistleo was really, really clever. This means that you're the second guy Serpent's given Model F to who was actually **_**intelligent**_**.**

Aile blinked in surprise. So did Flammole. Model F did to, until he realized he was being insulted. **Hey, what are you talking about! Are you calling me stupid!?**

**I'm not questioning your intelligence Fef. **Zero replied loftily. **I'm questioning the **_**existence**_** of your intelligence. There **_**is**_** a difference.**

Model F growled incoherently.

**We all know that you're not the sharpest knife on the rack. That position is reserved for Harpuia. Of course, I suppose you make up for it by being manlier than him and Phantom combined, although I suspect you're compensating for something with those giant cannons of yours.**

Harpuia, who had been gazing in disapproval at Zero, joined Model F in growling at Zero. Model P didn't, although he did seem to be twitching.

Aile just blinked in surprise. They were face to face with a pseudoroid, magma was going to crash into the room soon, and Zero was insulting his fellow Biometals? _Why_!?

Given Aile's current fascination with Zero, she didn't notice that Flammole seemed just as fascinated by Zero's apparent lack of priorities.

**Don't give me that look Harpuia. We both know that everybody and their mother confused you for a girl when they first heard you speak. **_**I**_** certainly did, at any rate. I suppose having a larger chest than Levi doesn't really help matters. **Zero mused, ignoring the indignant squeal from Model L. **That, and the fact that the word 'Harpuia' is derived from the Harpies of Greek myth, who are always female. Of course, that's not your fault personally. You didn't name yourself after all. Phantom, on the other hand… **Zero turned apologetically to Model P. **No offence, but no male should ever wear purple. It makes others question his… direction, shall we say. Not to mention the fact that you're just weird. Although the cool red scarf does detract from that image a bit. Kinda how my ponytail **_**slightly **_**detracts from my being such a badass.**

**This isn't going to end well for you Zero. **X remarked blandly as the other four Biometals began advancing on their red and blue companion, each of them thinking of…_interesting_ things to do to him. Stuffing him into a trash compactor was looking very appealing at the moment, for instance.

**Hey, this is just how I am X. I tend to make fun of people, you in particular.** **I may as well do it here where it'll be useful.**

"_Useful_?" Aile remarked in a fascinated tone.

Zero ignored her. **Let's see here. I've got Fefnir down for having low IQ scores, Harpy for being androgynous, Levi for being flat, and Phantom for being of questionable orientation. **

The four elemental Biometals edged closer to Zero, mental claws outstretched. If looks could kill, Zero would have been a smoking hole in the ground right then.

**Let's see…I have yet to insult X for being a pansy.**

X bristled at that, and the other four growled even more.

**Oh, don't give me that, guys. The copy X in your time was a real jerk, not to mention that he was, well, a copy. Sure, X can really, **_**really**_** cut loose if somebody pisses him off, but he's a self-proclaimed pacifist. But **_**I**_** can get away with calling him a pansy because **_**I**_** am the only person on this earth who can match him. Besides, X wouldn't do anything to me, nothing permanent at any rate. Right X?**

From the look X was giving him, he was seriously considering it.

**Aile, well…** Zero mused for a moment. **I can't actually think of something to say about Aile, so I guess she gets off lightly. At least, until I think of something.**

Aile was beginning to question Zero's sanity at that moment.

**And finally, I have yet to remark that Flammole, while intelligent, is sorely lacking said intelligence at this moment. Or at least, a healthy dose of common sense.  
**

Flammole managed to look surprised before he vanished into a giant explosion.

**Distraction equals demise, moron. Ahh, sometimes I'm so clever it kills.** Zero chuckled mirthfully at his own joke. **About time Cedre. I was wondering if you were ever going to line up that shot.**

The Biometals, Nuppie, and Aile all looked at Zero, at the smoke where Flammole had been, and at Cedre walking out from where she'd managed to sneak behind Flammole while Zero was busy insulting everyone, all with incredulous expressions. The Biometals had expressions akin to jaws hanging open, whereas Aile and Nuppie were simply staring dumbly.

X finally managed to collect his wits, albeit barely. **You… how do you act so clever and so… so… **_**idiotic**_** at the same time!?**

**It's a racial flaw.**

**Race has nothing to do with this!**

**Of course it does, X. You can be both stupid and wise at the same time, so I had to rise to the occasion. **

_**Me**_**!?**

**You **_**are**_** the father of all reploids, after all. One should try to uphold the standards of one's predecessor, don't you think?**

X made the motion of opening and closing his mouth in an attempt to respond, but he couldn't think of something. There was something about Zero's flawed logic that always derailed X's train of thought.

**You're not making any sense!** He finally wailed.

**Uh oh. I think I broke him.

* * *

**

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Aile to, er, calm X down. Model F swiped the other half of his power from Flammole's motionless body, Aile released the captive cyber elves, and they all headed for the surface.

In the room, a supposedly dead pseudoroid moved.

"Hah…Thought you'd…killed me…did ya?"

Flammole's large head was a wreck, along with most of his upper torso. His left arm had been torn off at the shoulder, which is actually where Cedre's rocket had hit. Most of said shoulder had been vaporized. The same could not be said for the rest of the pseudoroid as it staggered upright.

"I…still…FUNCTION!!" He roared with all of his being.

Murphy must have heard him, because the barriers holding back the lava failed just as he spoke those words.

* * *

**Moron. You shouldn't tempt fate.** Zero suddenly spoke.

_"Huh?"_

Zero made the motion of shrugging.** I just felt like saying that for some reason.**

They'd finally topped the crater of the volcano that dominated Area K, and were now drifting lazily towards Area C. Harpuia was driving, since he didn't want Aile testing out his flight gear at this altitude. Once they reached a place they could test it safely, he'd let her, but for now, it was his.

The cyber elves they'd released, about 15 of them including Nubtan and Turbo, were floating along in Aile's wake. Although Nuppie had insisted that there was no need to worry about it, some of them had experienced Neo Arcadia's 'hospitality' firsthand, and thus didn't quite trust X and his _Shitennou_ yet. Only Nuppie flew along with Aile and Cedre, while the rest stayed a safe distance behind them.

_"Are you insulting people again Zero?"_

**I was referring to Flammole, actually. And he **_**is**_** a moron, or at least severely deprived of common sense. Although, technically, so are all of you.**

They bristled again, and Zero mentally gestured in a placating manner.

**I'm not being insulting this time, but it's still true. All of you were so engrossed with beating me up that you completely forgot about Flammole. If he'd ever had the presence of mind to launch an attack, Aile and Cedre probably would have been killed. Of course, I suspected that he'd be caught up in our argument as well, so he wouldn't act. At least, not for a while, and by then Cedre would have been able to take him out. But still, you all should have been a bit more alert. I could tell the way you reacted after Cedre took out Flammole that you'd had no idea what I was up to. Hell, you should have at least **_**suspected **_**something. Then again, Cedre almost got caught up in it as well, and I even warned her ahead of time.**

**Could you really think of nothing else to distract him with than insults against us? **Harpuia hissed acidly. Harpuia sorely disliked being insulted, and he had a long memory.

**Not really. And I had to act fast, before Flammole actually decided to attack us. I didn't have much time, so I just went with what I had.**

_"Why didn't you want him to attack?"_

"Cedre." Aile spoke up softly. "If Flammole had attacked, Cedre would likely have been caught in the attack, and I was too far away to protect her. We brought her along for a training mission, not to deal with a pseudoroid, although she did a good job at doing just that. But if Flammole had hit her, he might have killed her."

**Precisely.**

And with that, Zero fell silent, letting the others reach the conclusion he'd intended for them to come to anyways, a conclusion shared by virtually every being Zero had ever met, friend or foe.

Rather simply put, one should _never_ underestimate Zero.

* * *

The M.E.G.A System built into the Biometals was designed to link the Biometal's modular armor to their Biomatch. While it was largely designed to work while the Biomatch was conscious, it had another function that allowed the awakened Biometal to activate it in the event that the Biomatch was knocked out. However, it had not been designed to stay active for the transition between the two states.

So when Aile passed out, it was easy to tell.

They were only 10 meters above the ground when Harpuia found himself suddenly thrust out of Aile's body, and his green armor vanished just as abruptly.

**Aile!? AILE!!**

Fortunately, since they'd been flying mostly horizontally, they didn't start to fall right away. Cedre realized the danger, and quickly grabbed Aile and flipped over in the air to land carefully on the ground.

She laid Aile on the ground, and prodded her. "Aile!? You okay?"

No response.

As Cedre tried to revive Aile, X suddenly rounded on Harpuia. **Harpuia! When you activated your flight boosters, did you do anything different than you used to?**

**Um, yes. While I managed to reactivate my flight boosters, the minimal damage I have not yet repaired prevents me from accessing my flight generators, and I do not have sufficient energy in my primary generator to power my flight boosters for that long. **

**Then how did you…** X suddenly flinched. **You took the needed energy from **_**my**_** power core, didn't you?**

**Well, yes. However, I…** anything else he might have said was cut off when X physically rammed him.

**You **_**idiot**_**! Do you have any idea what you've done!?**

Harpuia shook his head, confused by X's words.

"Aile! Come on, wake up!" Cedre desperately shook Aile, hoping for a response.

Zero emerged from Aile. **She's fine guys. Severely exhausted, but otherwise fine. We should probably get her back to the airship, and soon. She needs rest.**

Cedre nodded. They were close to Area C, so Cedre gently picked up the comatose girl and carried her in the direction of the nearest transerver.

X and Zero shared a look, and something passed between them in silence. It was fast approaching the time where they had to reveal what they'd done.

Now all they had to worry about was how everyone would react to it.

* * *

AN: This should give you something to look forward to. Although be prepared, since the chapter is likely to be _very _descriptive.

Okay, two notes of interest I'd like to cover here. First, the original character Lateral. She's going to be my first OC, although she won't take a hugely major role. I like Cedre, so I decided to give her a friend. Not to mention that I needed _some_ way to equip the HQ with _more ammunition than God_.

Second, the HQ itself. I've decided that it is time that the Guardian's airship/mobile headquarters had a name besides 'Guardian HQ' (Although somebody might have beaten me to it. I'm not sure). I might eventually come up with a name for it on my own, and I probably won't do so for two chapters or so, but I wouldn't mind some other imput. If you have any ideas, feel free to let me know. Who knows? I might just use it.


	19. Blessing and Curse

I would like it noted that I _loathe_ writing dialogue. Sure, I can do fine in a pinch, but I really don't like it. And the reason this chapter took so long is because there's so much of it. In fact, I sort of cut off this chapter from the next, making what was one really long chapter into two.

Those of you who dislike long, lengthy explanations are really going to hate me for this, but it is necessary, unfortunately. Not only does it serve the purpose of fulfilling my explanation of what was done to Aile, but it (eventually) serves to advance the plot, such as it is. And it wasn't like I could just say "I turned her into a reploid". Nope, I couldn't do that, so I came up with something rather close.

Because of the long, lengthy dialogue, not to mention the fact that I still might have to clean up a few sections, I will be including a brief chapter summary at the end.

It should also be noted that, due to my advanced progress on the next chapter, you can expect it in the next couple days.

Here goes nothing.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Nineteen

Blessing and Curse

* * *

**Alright, we're all here, and Aile is awake once more. I believe it's time that Zero and I explain a few things.**

Giro's old room was not crowded in the sense, but the presence of one transporter, two Guardians, and six sentient Biometals made the room seem smaller than it actually was. As it was, it was enough to make Aile feel somewhat…claustrophobic. Which was an odd feeling for someone who often encased herself in a suit of armor which literally had a mind of its own.

"And about time too." Colbor grumbled. "Considering how long it took you to finally get around to telling us."

**Patience is one of mankind's many virtues Colbor. If memory serves, reploids were built in their image.**

"And I ran out of patience two hours ago when Cedre showed up with Aile unconscious in her arms and only you two to blame for it, Zero."

**Good point.**

Aile resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Both X and Zero had been dragging their heels, so to speak, while waiting for her to recover from her collapse after the mission. And while she was still stuck in bed (Prairie refused to let her out of her room just yet), she was well enough to listen.

Zero sighed unhappily. **Look, the main reason X and I put this off is because of how much we'd have to explain to you guys. In order for you to understand the situation in it's entirety, we have to elaborate a bit on our pasts. Not counting the period where X and I were still unable to remember who we were, there were almost no instances to explain what happened because there wasn't enough **_**time**_** to explain it.**

"But there's enough time now, right?"

**Right. **X spoke up. **We're not sure how much, but we're pretty sure we've got enough of a lull in activity to explain everything to you.**

**Then spit it out. **Harpuia said calmly. **You might as well get it over with, now that we're here.**

Zero nodded. **Alright then. Let's start at the beginning, then.**

**

* * *

**

This hadn't been a part of his original reason for infiltrating the HQ and the Base, but curiosity was still a major factor in his thinking.

Which was why the mysterious figure was hidden in a vent overlooking Aile's room, listening on as Zero began the story.

* * *

**In the beginning, which is the year 20XX, there were two genius robotics scientists. At one point mutual partners, they eventually became bitter rivals when one fell to his ambitions and sought to conquer the world with his machines. While there was a long series of battles that the two fought, they are largely unimportant. What is important is that these two would culminate their work with the most powerful machines in the world; two sentient robots who would be known and feared for several centuries to come. They are, as you might have guessed, X and myself.**

**I was created by the first scientist, Dr. Thomas Light, who fought to save the world from his colleague. **X took up the story. ** He wanted to create a self-aware robot capable of thinking, acting, living, **_**being**_** like a human. And while I was created to do battle if necessary, Dr. Light did not want me to feel that battle was my sole reason for existing. Everything built into me, with the exception of my armor and buster, were designed to allow me to live normally as well as do battle. A good example is my weapon copy system, which is derived from my adaptor module, which allows me to adapt to my environment, whatever it may be. Only humans have ever had that capability, so I was given it to make me more human.**

**And I, **Zero spoke up, **I was created by his opponent, Dr. Albert Wily, who sought to control the world. Quite naturally, his reasons for creating me weren't quite as noble as his counterpart's. He created me to destroy Dr. Light, along with all of his creations. As such, he built me solely for combat. My original Z-saber, although it was heavily damaged when I was awakened in 21XX, is extremely powerful, and my learning system, which was originally pirated from X's adaptor module, lets me create sword techniques using data derived from fighting my enemies.**

"…I knew X was the first reploid, but I didn't expect you _both_ to be that old." Colbor remarked calmly. Well, as calmly as one could be in the presence of two beings who claimed to be at least 400 years old. "The Elf Wars we knew you participated in were supposed to be mid to late 21XX, so we knew you were at least a century old, but you're both even older than that?"

**I know, and we still kicked copious amounts of ass.** Zero remarked smugly before continuing on. **Of course, we had certain advantages that other reploids didn't enjoy. When X was discovered, Dr. Cain, who was only an archeologist, used only what little he could understand of X's blueprints and neural network to spawn the reploid race, and they were crude at best. Reploids following them were based on their predecessors' designs and the reploids following them based on theirs. So even though X is the sole father of the reploid race, his 'descendants' aren't anywhere near capable of matching him. And since X and I were built on similar blueprints, the same goes for me as well. X's 'Guardians' are closer to being X's children than any other reploid because they were built using X's original designs as the base blueprint, and not even they could come close to matching X's capabilities, let alone mine.**

Harpuia made a rather unhappy noise at that, but he kept silent as X took over again.

**In short, the reason that Zero and I are so powerful, even by today's standards, is because, as Zero mentioned, we possess unique abilities and systems that are impossible for anyone to duplicate. Abilities and systems that gave us unique, immense powers and capabilities that even high-level battle reploids could only dream of.**

Here, X paused. **Zero, you should probably go first here.**

**Duly noted. Okay, first of all, most of you might be aware of my…reputation, as it is, correct?**

Nods all around answered him.

**Of course, most of you aren't any older than 22XX, but it's possible you're heard of my legendary ability to shamelessly cheat death.**

Aile blinked, and the two reploids in the room merely arched their eyebrows a bit, but Harpuia made an affirming sound.

**Well, at least one of you has heard of it. **Zero nodded to Harpuia before turning back to the rest** Granted, this was largely due to my immense skill at arms and my natural toughness, since I, like X, was built of materials far beyond the standards of any mere reploid, even by today's standards.** Zero somehow managed to say that without even a hint of smugness.

**But I had a single, insurmountable advantage. The implications of which will be explained momentarily. This advantage allowed me to survive being blown in half, being **_**cut **_**in half, riding a nuclear-explosive-rigged shuttle and detonating the damned thing, and other, various injuries that would kill any normal reploid. Hell, one time all I had left was my head and upper torso, and I **_**still**_** lived. Thanks in no small part to X's assistance, but still impressive nonetheless.**

"Wait a minute…" Colbor looked down at himself for a moment. "Upper torso…" Colbor traced a finger about midway up his chest, then shook his head vigorously. "Wait a minute! Unless you still had most of your abdomen left over, such a blow would have taken out or heavily damaged your reactor. And I've seen the results of a blown main power source. Unless your old body was strong enough to withstand a _nuclear explosion_, and I highly doubt it, the explosion should have taken out your core processor, if not completely fried your entire OS!"

**Quite true. Hmm… **Zero mused for a moment, as if he was pondering Colbor's statement, but there was an odd tone to his musing. **You are correct Colbor. Not even I could have survived an interior main power source explosion. Of course, this was assuming that my power source was located there. Or even if I **_**had**_** a main power source.**

Sheer, abject silence answered him. Everyone in the room simply stared at him. At the impossibility of his statement. _No_ reploid could survive without some sort of power source.

At least, as far as they knew.

**Dr. Wily may have been an insane maniac, but he was still a genius. If Dr. Light hadn't created X, I'm sure Dr. Wily would have created something very much like him. **Zero stated boldly. **Most reploids have a single main power source, usually a fusion reactor or a refined E-Crystal complex. I, on the other hand, have something akin to a human circulatory system, complete with a primary pump almost exactly like the human heart. But instead of blood cells, I have **_**nanomachines**_**. Not only do they serve as my primary auto-repair system, but they also produce their own power. Not much, admittedly. In fact one nanomachine can barely produce enough power to power an LED for more than a few seconds. The catch is that I have literally **_**billions**_** of them, and because they can concentrate anywhere in my body, I can actually control my power needs more efficiently than any machine ever built. In addition, they contain not only an extremely miniaturized mass fabricator, which can create small amounts of matter, but a complete backup of my entire system.**

"So, in other words, you could survive virtually any kind of battle damage short of complete vaporization, and completely repair yourself?" Prairie's voice was tinged with shock from hearing all of that, but the scientist in her was still in control. Which was good for her, since everyone else but X was gaping at him.

**Bingo, although complete reconstruction would take time. Of course, there are some disadvantages, such as not having enough power for any standard built-in weapons. My Z-Saber ran off it's own extremely potent power source, and most of my sword techniques used it's power to execute them. I was eventually fitted with an auxiliary power source in my arm to supplement a redundant buster cannon. But even that was a copy of some auxiliary generator they pirated from X, and I eventually incorporated it for use in some of my energy-expensive techniques, such as **_**Rakuhouha**_**. But except for that, this system only had enough power to run my neural net, auto-repair, battle computer, movement systems, and a couple other necessary systems. For the most part, at any rate.**

Zero smirked in finality. **And **_**that**_** is the secret of my legendary inability to die, which has been the bane of countless mavericks and machines throughout the past few centuries. In fact, I know only one or two things that could actually destroy me. **Zero frowned suddenly. **Of course, those are both moot points since I'm sort of already dead.**

"I…see…" Prairie finally managed. It really was a lot to take in. Nobody had ever considered building a reploid in such a manner before, and this had been done four centuries ago! No wonder he was so legendary, if he could shrug off virtually anything and still keep on coming.

Finally, Prairie turned to X. "And what legendary, all-powerful system kept _you_ alive all those years?"

**Nothing as…unorthodox as Zero's system, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. Simply put, I have the single most powerful power source ever conceived. Period.**

"That's a bit bold to say."

**Perhaps, Colbor, but it's true nonetheless. Long ago, several years before I was even thought of, my father, Dr. Light, was supposedly visited by a powerful robot of…alien origins.**

He paused to let that sink in, ignoring the expected shocked looks he received.

**Personally, I have qualms about that, and so did Dr. Light. He theorized that the robot in question, who was known as Duo, might have been a visitor from an alternate dimension, or perhaps even a separate time. But regardless of his origins, he was crucial in aiding my predecessor against Dr. Wily, albeit for a brief time. When Duo left, in his gratitude he gave Dr. Light several fragments of a material he supposedly used to power his uniquely powerful weapons. The material was called 'Light Matter', and it naturally gave off an infinite amount of a unique type of radiation called 'Light Energy'. The energy was supposedly used to rapidly accelerate natural healing and supercharge auto-repair systems in machines.**

**Of course, the light energy itself wasn't much use in a power reactor. It was too unique, and couldn't be shifted into a useful form of energy that could be used to power something. So Dr. Light made a special reactor built around a piece of Light Matter and a very powerful and very heavily modified plasma furnace.**

Prairie stiffened. A plasma furnace was a device that took almost any energy and converted it into various forms of plasma, used for various things from heating devices to plasma busters. In effect, they were very crude versions of a mass fabricator. They were also huge energy sinks, but if this 'Light Matter' produced unlimited amounts of this unique energy…

"And what happened when he put them together?" She asked, almost breathless in anticipation.

**It took a lot of power to start up, but what Dr. Light did was use the furnace to generate extremely pure plasma, and bombarded it with high concentrations of light energy using the LM piece. The result was ultra-purified, ultra-stable plasma, which could be stored easier, compressed to higher concentrations, and produce more than **_**four times**_** it's own output in energy for the cost of the plasma it put in.**

Prairie's eyes grew very, very wide. Scientists throughout the world had dreamed of creating a super-efficient energy device that output more energy than was put into it, yet none had ever succeeded. If X was saying what she thought he was, Dr. Light had somehow managed to create one, or something very close to one, and the implications of that were staggering. If she could somehow reverse-engineer something like that…

X apparently read her mind, because he shook his head. **Sorry, Prairie, but you can't make one. The device requires a fragment of Light Matter for it to work and LM does not exist naturally in our universe. Furthermore, it is impossible to manufacture in our universe as well, at least with existing technology, which is why Dr. Light believed Duo came from another dimension or time period.**

**Anyways, when Dr. Light realized what he'd managed to do, he decided to use all of the fragments of Light Matter to create the perfect energy reactor. There were six fragments at first. Dr. Wily stole one of them, and one was destroyed when Dr. Light tried to remove it from the original prototype reactor, but he ultimately succeeded in creating four unique generators. I can't tell you exactly how they were put together, mostly because I myself don't really know for sure, but I can tell you that it worked. Dr. Light called his creation the 'Ash System', since it utilized plasma for both creation and continuation. That, and plasma had long used in busters to destroy, yet he would henceforth use it to create energy. 'From ashes to Ash', in a manner of speaking.**

**For all extent and purposes, the Ash System is the single most powerful energy system ever made, and I received **_**two**_** of them; one to power my body and systems and one to power my buster and all it's unique capabilities. So when I refer to my 'Buster Core', I am in fact referring to the Ash System that powers my X-Buster. Not to mention that the combination of the two systems creates an additional purifying effect, improving the energy output of both systems by about 40 percent.**

"Amazing…" Prairie said softly, and nobody in that room was inclined to disagree with her. Not that they could have even if they were. Ultra-pure plasma, infinite energy reactors, nanomachine circulatory power systems… It was just too much for them to take in all at once.

Aile, not being as fascinated with such systems as the rest, frowned as something nudged her in the back of her mind.

Unless Zero and X were somewhat vain (which she _highly_ doubted), there was no real point to show off the extent of their systems, however advanced they were supposed to be. Especially considering that both of them were supposed to be dead anyways.

Then why explain systems that they probably couldn't use anymore anyways?

* * *

_Although she was conscious, she didn't move. She literally couldn't. The lightning bolt had shorted out the tiny power converter in her body, which supplied her cybernetics with energy to function. Her cybernetics were dead, and her entire body felt like it was several hundred pounds heavier.

* * *

_

Aile inhaled sharply as the memory surfaced, and suddenly she _knew_, without any doubt, what was going on.

"So that's what you did."

Aile's voice cut through the silence of the room like a knife, and every head turned to her. Aile simply smiled faintly at her two first Biometals as her intuition finished filling in the holes.

And then, Zero chuckled. **Well X, I am impressed. She's smart, courageous, cool and collected, and even able to figure out why we've been spouting on about crap we no longer need, no matter how nifty. You definitely picked the cream of the crop when it comes to Chosen Ones, so to speak. Alright Aile, since you figured it out, you get the honor of revealing it to the rest of the peanut gallery.**

"X accessed his Weapon Copy System from his original blueprints, despite the fact that he no longer had his original body. If you could access systems, you could access components as well."

**Correct.** X replied with a soft smile, proud of his Chosen's deductive ability. **So…?**

Aile closed her eyes briefly, completely aware of how everyone else would react to what she was about to say. Nevertheless, she didn't hesitate.

"Both my cybernetic power converter and my human heart failed me in Area D, and you couldn't figure out how to fix them. But neither of you would be able to forgive yourselves if you let me die. And you just told us what you could use to _replace_ them with…"

The silence was total as that statement slowly registered.

* * *

_Ah._ The figure thought, lying hidden in the vent overhead. _So that's what happened._

That certainly explained quite a few of _his_ questions. Save for one: How everyone else would take it.

He didn't have to wait long.

* * *

X and Zero braced themselves for the inevitable response. They weren't disappointed.

Prairie seized both Biometals with an iron grip. "_You did WHAT!?_"

**We broke the law. Specifically, we violated Article 238 of the World Nations Charter.** Zero replied calmly.** 'On this day, the 24****th**** of November, 2114, this law is passed, to be put into effect immediately. No reploid shall be created with components that are compatible with the human body. Furthermore, in the event of reploids created with such components prior to the passing of this law, no reploid with such components will allow said components to be transferred to the human body, and no human may accept such components.'**

Zero spit the verse out with what felt like a single breath. **Officially, they didn't want reploids being 'harvested' for artificial organs and tissues that could be used to keep humans alive. In truth, they created that law specifically because of me and my humanlike circulation system. They were afraid of what could happen to humans if such a thing happened. In fact, it's the reason you're reacting the way you are now Prairie. That's also why people had such a hard time accepting cybernetics, and even those are limited to day-to-day use muscles and bone, specifically arms and legs. The actual law is dead and buried, but the stigma attached with the idea is still strong.**

**Regardless, what's done is done. **X said stiffly, drawing Colbor's glare. **Given the circumstances, Zero and I did what we had to do. We used the personal transerver protocols built into the M.E.G.A System to remove Aile's human heart, and replaced it with Zero's artificial circulatory pump. To provide power to the new unit, as well as to keep Aile's cybernetics online, we also removed her damaged cybernetic power converter, replacing it with my ASH System body reactor. But apart from several small modifications to her existing circulatory system and cybernetics to allow use of the new components, we did nothing else.**

"…I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit biased towards this sort of thing." Prairie growled unhappily. "Regardless, that's not what bothers me the most. What does bother me is the fact that you two simply _did_ this, and then you let us figure it out on our own! You could have at least told us something was wrong with Aile right after Area D. At least then, we might have been able to do something about it."

Prairie opened her mouth to say more, but Aile interrupted her. "What could you have done about it, Prairie? It's not like they could reverse it. I get the feeling they simply had to discard the…old components, since they had no means of hanging on to them. And while getting a replacement cyber generator is relatively straightforward, it's all but impossible to make a heart transplant these days due to lack of donors. Besides, anybody with a decent medical degree and equipment would refuse to help…someone with CCIDD."

Prairie had tried to get a word in edgewise, but she promptly clamped her mouth shut when she heard that last statement. Once more, silence reigned in the room.

* * *

As Zero had noted, humanity as a whole had been very…hesitant towards adopting cybernetics into their daily lives. However, while there were some humans who downright refused the implants, most everyone was okay with the idea.

Unfortunately, even though the procedures had become much more refined and much safer since they'd been implemented, there were still a few hiccups along the way.

The human body is designed to work as hard as it's environmental demands require it. A person who lifts heavy weights with their arms will develop stronger arm muscles in order to adapt to the new loads imposed on the arms. Or, if someone doesn't use their arms much, they become weaker, to allow the unused energy to be used elsewhere in the body, wherever it might be needed.

One of the major problems with cybernetic implants is that they reduce the load almost altogether, which means that the human body would become weaker as a result. In order to prevent this, the cybernetics included a neural attachment designed to relay the load the cybernetics are hefting onto the muscles, even if the muscles themselves aren't being used for that much load. The idea is to keep the muscles strong, therefore preventing the body from weakening.

Cardio-Cybernetic Incompatible Debilitation Disease, or CCIDD, is a genetic disorder that has yet to be cured. It has no adverse effects on the human body…except to make the brain incompatible with almost all kinds of neural attachments.

Which means that the body doesn't recognize the load it's supposedly carrying… and proceeds to weaken itself as a result, just as it's designed to.

The good news is that even though the body weakens, the cybernetics are designed to maintain the muscular integrity of the muscles and bones they're attached to, allowing them to keep them up to scratch.

The bad news is that the heart is the only muscle that cannot receive cybernetic supports, with the expected result.

CCIDD has three major stages. Stage 1 CCIDD is where the heart slowly weakens, but can still maintain the human body. This stage is all but undetectable, and can last up to 30 years.

Stage 2 CCIDD is where the heart becomes so weak that it can no longer carry the load of it's own body, forcing the body's cybernetic power converter to take up the load. The increased output of a cybernetic converter is usually when CCIDD is first spotted. The duration of this stage depends on the cybernetic converter in question, but usually lasts between 4 or 5 years.

Finally, Stage 3 CCIDD is where the converter finally becomes insufficient to keep the body running. At this point, the person in question must be hospitalized and kept on advanced life support. However, nobody in Stage 3 CCIDD has ever lived beyond one year.

The disease was always terminal…and it was incurable. A transplant would stave off the inevitable for a time, but the genetic inability to recognize the cybernetics remained…and would destroy the new heart as it had destroyed the last. An artificial heart wouldn't help either. No modern artificial heart could link up with a human nervous system without an adaptor…which would be rejected by the same genetic flaw. The only practical 'cure' was removal of the cybernetics that were destroying the person, and that was all but impossible. Despite attempts and experiments, less than 4 percent of people who volunteered to have their cybernetics removed survived, and that number had no intention of changing in the near future.

* * *

Prairie closed her eyes in sad understanding. Yes, there was no real cure for CCIDD.

But the M.E.G.A System used in the Biometals was designed to link with the human mind, and it had already managed to connect to Aile. She wouldn't have been able to transform otherwise. And Zero had obviously connected his circulatory unit using that same system. Furthermore, if what Zero had said was correct, his 'heart' probably could take anything Aile's body needed. And even if it couldn't, X's ASH system could supply more than enough power to make up the difference.

X and Zero were right all along, in more ways than one. They _had_ saved Aile's life…twice over.

_But that doesn't make it any less aggravating that they went and did this all under your nose, does it?_ Prairie thought with ill humor, and she suppressed a grin as several evil thoughts slipped into her head.

**I think that you'll be fine Aile, even with your CCIDD. **Zero remarked. **However, there are several small… problems that need to be addressed.**

"Like what?" Prairie asked in a tone that sent warning bells through Aile's head. It almost sounded like Prairie was plotting something…

**Well…** X paused, musing about how to word what he was about to say. **Aile, you've been fighting for the better part of a week or so, almost nonstop.**

Aile thought that over, then blinked in surprise. Aside from the brief catnap after pranking Fleuve, resting in the medical wing after passing out in Area F, and the brief rest she'd gotten after the Area D battle, she'd gotten almost no rest at all.

X read her expression, and nodded. **Right. You've been up and kicking for much longer than any human should be able to. The reason for that is because you've got increased stamina. Zero's heart beats at the same speed as a human one, but at a much higher pressure, dramatically increasing the speed at which your blood moves through your body. Therefore, oxygen reaches your cells quicker, making it harder to become tired.**

**Also, while the increased movement of oxygen **_**should**_** force you to breath more rapidly to compensate, Zero's heart does not require an oxygen supply of it's own. Since the human heart needs a very high percentage of the body's oxygen intake, taking it out of the equation frees up a large amount of oxygen to use for the body per breath, improving your ability to maintain suitable levels of oxygen in your body cells without the need to increase your breathing rate.**

Aile nodded, and actually smiled slightly. She didn't know about Prairie or Colbor, but _she_ certainly didn't mind the ability to stay on her feet longer than normal.

**Ah…** Zero spoke up somewhat hesitantly. **There **_**is**_** a significant downside though…**

Various eyes leveled at Zero again.

**Well, as X just said, your 'blood pressure', so to speak, is through the roof. I used some of my old nanomachines to make sure your blood vessels would be able to take the new pressure. The problem is that because of the blood's increased speed, if you get cut or wounded, you'll bleed out almost three times faster than normal. Which means that almost **_**any**_** cut or wound has the potential to be fatal.**

Colbor suddenly looked distinctly unhappy, and Prairie's face reverted back to her ill glower.

**Of course, X and I took precautions to ensure that wouldn't happen. X has been overpowering the Biometal Armor shields with his ASH body core, and I've been contributing as well. In fact, that's why Aile passed out after we dealt with Flammole. Harpuia accidentally stole the power from the ASH body core that was actually keeping Aile up and running. Of course now that he knows that, he'll probably be more careful about leeching energy from X's reactor. Luckily for us, we probably don't have to worry about Aile getting wounded in the future. At least, not as much.**

**Why is that, Zero?** Harpuia spoke up for the first time. **Unless you have some ace hidden up your sleeve, which I somehow doubt, you and Mas… X… would have to continue maintaining a high output for Aile's shields.**

Zero nodded. **As a matter of fact, I **_**do**_** have an ace up my sleeve, although I was lucky to find it. And it just so happens to be sitting outside waiting for me to invite it in.**

Zero nodded to a random bulkhead. As if on cue, a tiny speck of light appeared, which Aile recognized as one of the cyber-elves she'd helped to rescue earlier. Nubtan, if she recalled correctly.

"_You sent for me, Zero?"_

**I did indeed. 200 years ago, I gave you a very special mission, did I not?**

"_You did."_

**Have you completed it?**

The small cyber elf, who looked very much like a blue version of Nuppie, looked around the room, taking note of the confused looks, then gazed at Zero again. _"Yes. My research is done. I am prepared to utilize it, if you so require it."_

**That won't be necessary, but I might need you to share that research shortly, as soon as I explain what you've been up to.**

"_As you wish."_

Zero turned to the others. **As you are probably aware, I was… very close to Ciel. All of you know who she was, with the slight exception of Aile, and she probably knows enough.**

Indeed, Zero and X had taken some time to share a few stories of their past with Aile, although the stories usually did not cover major events. Aile didn't know Ciel as well as she might have liked, but she knew about her.

**Long story short, Ciel was badly wounded during an assault on Resistance HQ. She recovered eventually, but I decided to make sure the same thing wouldn't happen again. So I deployed Nubtan here to do some research. I picked Nubtan because she has the unique power of transforming herself into a Sub-Tank.**

Aile knew about those. A Sub-Tank was a specially designed energy storage system that could transfer all of it's stored power to it's holder, dramatically overpowering an auto-repair system and allowing almost instantaneous repair of armor and systems. But it only worked on reploids…right?

"I knew it." Colbor suddenly spoke, interrupting Aile's train of thought. "I knew you were up to something when you sent Nubtan off like that. And I bet I know what. You sent her to design a Sub-Tank that could heal humans, didn't you?"

"_Correct." _Nubtan replied calmly. _"Upon the conclusion of my research, I would be assigned to assist Ciel in her _own_ research, which was largely focused around Cyber Elves. Should an event occur that would cause Ciel harm, I would use my power and become the modified Sub-Tank, fully charged of course, which would be capable of healing her. That was my mission, given to me by Zero more than two hundred years ago."_

Utter shock, and a spurt of fury, pulsed through Prairie's brain. She wasn't sure what startled her more; Nubtan, for being willing to give up her life in order to save Ciel's life…or Zero, for being the one who'd told her to do it.

"_However…my research took far longer than I thought it would." _Nubtan continued. _"By the time I was finished, Zero was already destroyed, and Ciel had already left to pursue her own agenda."_ Nubtan looked away, as if shamed. _"As I was not there when Ciel left, I was unable to locate her afterwards, nor was I able to locate anyone who knew where she had gone. I… I failed to complete my mission."_

**You did the best you could under the circumstances. **Zero spoke soothingly. **As far as I am concerned, you completed your mission. Besides, the reason I gave you that mission was because we lacked the resources to construct such a unit on our own, otherwise I would have done so. But now, I suspect that we might be able to construct one…and you still have the data and blueprints.**

"Ah, I see…" Prairie actually sounded satisfied this time. "We can use Nubtan's data to construct a Sub-Tank to work on Aile, in the event that she is severely wounded." She turned to the cyber elf in question. "Nubtan, it is possible to construct based on your data, right?"

"…_Perhaps. However, I suspect that it may take many days to locate and recover sufficient components, and even longer to put them together. The device in question I ultimately designed is very complex. It may take some time, but it is possible."_

Praire nodded. "Okay, I guess that's all we can do. I want that data on my terminal immediately, Nubtan. Get right on it."

"_Yes Ma'am."_

Nubtan saluted, and flew away.  
"And as for you two…" Prairie turned to glare at X and Zero. "I am very, _very_ put out with you. I can't do anything about this situation, but I _can_ take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again in the future."

The gaze intensified. X and Zero backed away slowly, wondering what she had in store for them.

Prairie turned to Zero with a very evil smile on her face. "Zero… I've read Cedre's report on how you managed to distract Flammole long enough for her to destroy him."

Zero averted his gaze slightly, not looking at the other Biometals as they recalled the extent of Zero's…distraction.

"As such, I've decided on a fitting punishment for you two. Now that you're back in one piece, along with Harpuia, I've decided that Fleuve could use some more data. So Zero will be analyzed…simultaneously with the other Biometals."

**W-what!?** Zero stammered in shock, just as Model L latched onto him. **Don't worry Zero. We'll take **_**good**_** care of you…**

Zero shuddered as a brief memory surfaced, one in which someone had said those exact words to him. Someone who was now known as Model L. And that particular scenario hadn't ended very well for him.

"X," Prairie continued, transferring her ill gaze from the hapless Zero to X. "You will remain here to keep an eye on Aile. She should be able to get up and move around now, but I still want someone keeping an eye on her. Which means you _don't_ get to participate." She finished with a satisfied smirk.

X looked extremely unhappy, but obediently flew over to Aile.

"I hope you two will think next time you try something like this." Prairie motioned to the Biometals and walked out of the room, followed by four Biometals and a _very_ reluctant Zero. "As for you, Zero, I'm sure that you and your friends have some _interesting_ things to discuss."

…**this won't end well by any stretch.

* * *

**

AN: Poor Zero. He just has no luck. I'll probably leave Zero's punishment to your imaginations, but it's really not that hard to envision.

For those of you paying attention, keep an eye on the Sub-Tanks. They are what I intend to use to advance the plot.

Anyways, here's that chapter summary I promised you.

* * *

-X was built using a prototype, infinite energy generator, utilizing fragments of matter that emit light energy left behind by Duo in 20XX. It is called the ASH system.

-Zero was built with a sort-of parody on a human's circulatory system, up to and including a pump that mimics the human heart. Instead of blood, the system uses energy-producing auto-repairing nanomachines, which provide Zero with power instead of a main power generator. This allows Zero to survive just about anything, and is the explanation for his legendary inability to die.

-Aile has a rare disease that prevents her brain from adapting to her cybernetics, which caused her heart to weaken to the point of failure, which it did in Area D. (Please see the section in the story for the full details on this disease)

-Aile's cybernetic generator, the tiny power device that keeps her cyberenetics running, was destroyed in Area D as a result of Serpent's lightning attack.

-Zero and X used the M.E.G.A. System, coupled with the transervers built into the Biometals, to replace Aile's human heart and cybernetics generator with Zero's artificial heart and X's ASH system.

-Zero and X's modifications have a very nasty side-effect. Namely, her blood pressure is through the roof. As in, if she is in the process of losing blood, she will loose it nearly three times faster than an ordinary person. This also makes it very difficult to treat her injuries.

-Nubtan, one of the cyber-elves that Aile rescued in Area K, is revealed to have been on a secret mission for Zero: To design a Sub-Tank designed to work on humans. It was originally designed for Ciel, but Zero decides it can now be used for Aile.

-Prairie, angered at Zero and X for doing all this without even giving her a heads-up, punishes Zero by forcing him into the same analysis machine as the other Biometals, the same ones he insulted in Area K. She punishes X by not allowing him to participate.


	20. Lateral

Here's that update I promised you. A bit later than I'd planned, but only by a few days or so, thankfully. It's also dialogue, but fortunately, it's not as detailed as the last, so it should be a bit easier on you.

Remember that character I mentioned back in chapter 18, Lateral? Well, as you might guess by this chapter's name, here's where I bring her into the fold, coupled with a bit of backstory and some plot advancement.

I hope you like her. She's my first OC, and as I hinted at earlier, she's a bit…unstable. Proceed with caution.

-Ainrhyr-

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

**_Rise of the Chosen_**

Chapter Twenty

Lateral

* * *

Guardian HQ lay still and immobile. Not without good reason.

"Officially", it hadn't moved out of the main base because Silure had yet to devise a name for it, and he'd downright refused to let the thing move until it had one. He could be stubborn like that sometimes.

Of course, the unofficial reason it hadn't moved yet was a bit simpler: Lateral wasn't done with it yet.

Colbor had managed, after a long battle, to convince Prairie and Silure that the massive airship needed to be upgraded in order to survive future air battles, and that Lateral was the best one to perform them. They'd been reluctant, but they'd finally agreed.

Of course, Colbor had neglected to mention that once the disaster known as Lateral was unleashed, there was virtually no force on earth that could stop her.

Huge chunks of the outer hull were stripped off, replaced by newer, tougher composites dotted with weapon systems, sensors, and other various things, most of them designed and built by Lateral herself. Merely mortal machine guns emplacements were removed and replaced with 'far superior' miniaturized particle guns, strung together with modified computer controls and sensor arrays, allowing them to serve as automated point defense clusters. Rail cannons were elongated and received improved electromagnetic coils, increasing their launch velocity and greatly improving maximum range. The original long range weapons, the plasma cannons, were fitted with compression chambers that allowed stored plasma to be concentrated further than normal. The fire rate was somewhat slowed, but the overall damage from such a weapon was dramatically increased.

To power these new weapons, Lateral had overseen the installation of a _second_ additional reactor, bringing the total up to three. She'd been able to fit them by extending the ship's length between the original reactor room and the engine compartments, as well as updating and miniaturizing several engine components.

Since the massive airship now weighed several hundred (if not thousand) tons more, Lateral had added several additional engine thrusters, as well as multiple counter-gravity modules to keep the ship aloft, and to top it off, she'd added in a _fourth_ reactor just to make sure the ship had power to spare.

It might have seemed excessive, if not for the fact that the still-nameless HQ's new armaments amounted to less than 10 percent of the firepower that protected the Main Base, most of which had also been installed by Lateral anyway. In addition, what Lateral had installed on the HQ was only about 40 percent of what she _could_ have put on there.

It had been when Lateral had tried to install a truly gigantic plasma cannon beneath the large statue on the front of the ship that Prairie had finally put her foot down. Not only would it have taken up too much space, but it would have required at least two more reactors to provide sufficient energy to make the weapon feasible, even if Lateral was willing to extend the ship further to make room for them. And that would have unbalanced the ship by too far a margin, even if Lateral put in more counter-grav modules.

Besides, Ciel had designed that statue, which was why Prairie and Silure had put it there. It was therefore taboo, and would not be messed with under any circumstance.

But the ship was still grounded while Lateral and her team made the finishing touches on the even more massive airship, and they were _still_ adding things here and there, just because they _could_.

Gods alone knew what the final result would end up being.

* * *

"…Tch…"

Aile grunted as her legs threatened to give out again, and only a concentrated force of will kept her on her feet.

Despite the fact that it would take some time to construct a Sub-Tank for Aile, Aile simply couldn't stay out of the field for that long, so she and X had set off to find a temporary solution to her condition, with Colbor tagging along.

It had been decided that Muguet was too conservative to react favorably to Aile's new condition, so Aile approached Rose instead. Rose, for the most part, was more startled than reproachful of what X and Zero had done to Aile, but her medical knowledge soon proved to be exactly the asset they needed. She proceeded to inject Aile with a potent blood coagulant to enhance her blood's ability to clot, and therefore heal. It was a temporary solution, but it would suffice for the next few days or so.

Unfortunately, as X, Rose, and Colbor soon discovered, Aile didn't respond very kindly to needles.

**You should get some rest Aile.** X muttered tersely. He sounded a bit on edge, probably because she looked on the verge of collapsing.

"I-I'm _fine_ X!" Aile winced as her right leg cramped up again, and she leaned against the wall. "Ugh… Why'd I have to look at the damnable thing?!" She had not had a pleasant reaction to the injections, and that coupled with the effects of the blood coagulant itself was guaranteed to give anyone a bad day.

"I still find it hard to believe that after all you've been through, you get nauseous when faced with mere needles." Colbor remarked.

"I'm trying to save the world, Colbor. I'm allowed to have my quirks." She didn't quite snarl at him, but the intent was there, and he smiled cheerfully at her expression.

A moment was spent glaring at him, then Aile finally forced herself back on her feet and continued down the hallway, watched over by a rather nervous looking X. Colbor, chuckling under his breath so Aile couldn't hear, followed in their wake.

* * *

According to physics, Momentum is equal to the Mass of an object times it's Velocity in a given direction. In other words, the faster and heavier you are, the more force you apply in whatever direction you happen to be moving.

Aile was walking rather slowly, and she was very light for her size, even with cybernetics.

Meaning that when someone came barreling around the corner ahead and slammed into Aile at full speed, Aile had no chance at all.

"Oof!!"

Aile and newcomer went flying. In fact, they hit the ground a good four feet from where they'd collided, and slid an enviable before they stopped.

"Whoopsies! Sorry."

Colbor facepalmed and sighed dramatically. "Honestly Lat. Can't you ever _walk_ anywhere?"

"Nope! Not really, anyways. Oh, hi Colbor!"

"Well you should really learn to. And hello to you too."

Aile pushed herself upright, getting her first good look at her assailant, the infamous Lateral.

Her first thought was that she was very small. At 152 centimeters (~4.9 ft), she was actually shorter than Aile was, which was quite a feat, given that Aile wasn't very tall to begin with. Short green hair, wide hazel eyes, and a bright smile made her look almost like someone's over-cheerful kid sister. At least, until Lateral turned to look at her and Aile spotted the slightly fanatical glimmer in her eyes.

"Hey Lat, this is Aile. Remember? I told you about her before."

"Oh yea!" Lateral seized her hand and shook it rapidly. "Hi Aile!"

Aile was briefly reminded of her first run-in with Cedre, minus the rocket launcher. "Uh, hi. Nice to meet you. You're…Lateral, right?"

"Yup!" She bobbed her head. "That be Lat's name. Aile's heard about Lat, right?"

Aile blinked in surprise. Given the stories circulating about Lateral, she'd expected some oddities, but speaking in the third person was not one of them.

X decided to jump in and give Aile time to get her thoughts together. **Hello Miss Lateral. I am X. I hope you've heard of me?**

"Hi X! It's been a while. Lat hasn't seen X for a long while. Lat last saw X after X fought Zero. Lat thinks so, at any rate…" Lateral paused, and put a hand on her chin, the glimmer in her eyes fading. "It's been a while… I guess I don't really remember…"

Lateral stayed that way for a moment, then the glimmer returned and Lateral smiled brightly again, as if someone had flipped a switch. "Oh well! Lat doesn't really care. Lat's happy that Lat can see X again. Hi again, X!"

**Uh, hi Lateral…again…**

Colbor calmly stepped in before things got awkward again. "Say Lat, how are the upgrades coming."

Lateral twitched.

"Oh _bugger_! Lat's still got lotsa work to do! Lat's gotta go! Bye X, Bye Aile, Bye Colbor!"

And Lateral tore off like an errant plasma bolt, vanishing down the corridor.

"And there she goes." Colbor said fondly. "So, what did you think of your first meeting with the legendary Lateral, Aile?"

Aile thought for a moment. She had been caught off guard a bit. "Well, she's…nice. And enthusiastic, definitely. She reminds me a bit of Cedre, or maybe Giro." Aile paused for a moment before smiling. "I think I like her."

And oddly enough, she meant it. After all, after she'd gotten over Cedre's…enthusiasm, she'd realized that Cedre was actually pretty nice. Not only that, Cedre seemed to like her too.

Colbor blinked at her, then smiled. "I'm…glad to hear that, Aile. Not too many people can claim to be friends with Lateral. She's just too…_weird_ for them." He growled the word bitterly. "You saw it, didn't you? Lateral was lucid for a moment when she talked to X. It's usually easy to notice when she is."

Aile nodded.

"Well, believe it or not, that's an improvement. Long ago, she wasn't…weird…at all. Not before the incident, that is. After that, she changed drastically from the Lateral I knew so well…"

* * *

_"And who are you supposed to be?"_

_The short, green-haired girl saluted sharply. "Sir, Lateral Roamer, recently appointed assistant of Chief Scientist Cerveau, Sir!"_

_Lieutenant Commander Colbor, second in command of Field Operations and overall fourth in command of the Neo Arcadian Resistance Movement, merely raised an eyebrow at the tiny girl. "You expect me to believe that not only did Cerveau actually take an assistant, but he picked a little half-pint like yourself for the position?"_

_"Yes sir."_

_"…" Colbor didn't reply to that. He merely looked her over again, taking careful note of the archaic, but powerful looking rifle she had slung on her back. "I trust you know how to use that?"_

_"Yes sir."_

_Colbor sighed internally. Despite the fact that Weil was dead and everything was peaceful, mavericks were still around in large numbers pissing everybody off, and the Resistance didn't exactly have Zero to watch out for it anymore. They needed every warm body they could get their hands on, tiny or otherwise. Damn it all._

_"…Alright then. I'll take you to Cerveau."

* * *

_

_Several weeks passed, during which Lateral proved herself worthy of the position of the sole mortal being Cerveau had ever taken as an apprentice. Granted, Cerveau excelled at everything he did, whereas Lateral tended to be superior in weapons technology. But not only was Lateral one of the best and fastest scientists Colbor had ever seen, she was also superb at _building_ anything she designed. In fact, Ciel herself had gone to Lateral for help in building something the human scientist needed for her research. And Lateral had gone and built it for her…and then promptly designed and built something better for Ciel to use as well. _

_In addition, Lateral demonstrated that she was adept at combat as well, and proved that she might be one of the most accurate shooters anywhere. Her weapon was a heavily customized old-fashioned mass-driver called a 'machine gun', rather than a modern plasma weapon, and was supposedly built during some ancient human war. Modified to fire tiny, needle-sharp fragments of metal at high speed, Lateral could cut apart any maverick in her way without effort._

_And of course, the entire base loved her. She was smart, funny, and very level-headed, no matter the circumstances. Despite a handful of misgivings in the beginning, everyone was happy to have her.

* * *

_

_Colbor entered the lab, and promptly ducked as something flew past his head._

_"Lose something again, Lat?"_

_The scientist in question was digging though a pile of components. And by 'digging', we mean she was immersed head-first in the pile, tossing parts left and right as she swam through them, looking for one in particular. As the entire base had learned, Lateral did not delegate duty to any lesser being. If there was something that needed doing that she was working on, _she_ did it, no questions asked. Her work ethic was admirable, if a bit obsessive. She rarely needed assistance, and even more rarely asked for it._

_Lateral popped out of the pile. "Hey Colbor. Have you seen a plasma conduit, 152mm long, 18mm in diameter? None of these are the right diameter."_

_"Um…" Colbor rubbed his head. "Did you ask Cerveau to fabricate one for you?"_

_"I did that already, and you know what he said?" Lateral gestured to the pile. "He said, 'Just dig around in there, I'm sure you'll find something'. Honestly, you'd think he's never built a Burst Plasma Emitter before."_

_Colbor walked over to her. "Well, Cerveau is a systems engineer, not weapons. He always was a bit better with software than hardware, although he did pretty well with Zero's stuff. Besides, he's always gone by the principle of making do with what he _has_, rather than what he _needs_. Improvise, in other words."_

_"I know, I know…" Lateral dug around a bit more, and pulled out an old buster cannon. "I can improvise fine. I _like_ improvising, actually. I just wanted to see how it would turn out if I didn't have to, for once."_

_She dismantled the weapon in seconds, withdrawing what components she needed, and somehow managed to put together a makeshift plasma conduit in less than two minutes._

_Colbor gave a low whistle. "Nice."_

_She grinned at him.

* * *

_

"You liked her, didn't you?"

Colbor looked sharply at her, then chuckled softly. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. We got along very well, and I ultimately went to her rather than Cerveau if I needed anything fixed or made. I also got into the habit of spending time with her when I was off duty. So yea, I suppose you could say I liked her. We were very good friends."

Colbor looked a ways down the hallway, where Lateral had reappeared. She proceeded to attack the wall panel that was there, replacing it's merely modern components with her 'highly superior' ones.

Colbor sighed. "And then…the incident."

* * *

_Colbor, grumbled feelingly as the small force left the Resistance Base, heading north. Ciel had noticed an unusual energy signature at an old E-Crystal mine, and had assembled a small task force to investigate._

_Not that heading out bothered Colbor. He was a soldier; he was used to stuff like this. Although…_

_"Why couldn't we just trans there instead of walking the whole ways?"_

_Ciel gave him a patient look of indifference, a look she'd adopted from Zero. "I told you already. The signature might be one of Weil's leftover remnants. If we trans in there, we risk giving ourselves away. We need to keep a low profile, Colbor."_

_"Explain to me how sneaking in and blowing them to hell and back is keeping a low profile."_

_Some of the newer soldiers looked uncomfortable at Colbor 'arguing' with the leader of the Resistance, while some of the older veterans merely chuckled. Colbor was a superb soldier, but he had always enjoyed seeing how annoyed he could get Zero without the red hunter hitting him, and he'd recently upgraded his target to Ciel. However much she might disagree, Ciel enjoyed the playful bantering Colbor brought her way, and she played his game masterfully._

_Alouette giggled at some of the rookies' expressions as Colbor and Ciel annoyed each other. It wasn't a long walk, only 20 miles or so, but it looked to be entertaining, at least._

_They were maybe 2 miles from the Resistance Base when the bombs went off._

_Colbor's head whipped around instinctively as the dull booms echoed around them. Several dozen fireballs erupted all across the structure's exterior. And then, as if in slow motion, the entire base crumbled and collapsed in on itself._

_For a moment, there was nothing more than stunned silence. None of the resistance soldiers could fully comprehend what had just happened._

_Finally, Ciel shook off her confusion and swiftly issued orders._

_"Everyone form up! Back to the base quickly! We need to see if there were any survivors! Colbor, have your unit scout ahead and behind us; those explosions can't have been accidental."_

_Ciel's orders galvanized the soldiers into action, and they ran for the demolished base.

* * *

_

"…we managed to pull four people out of there alive, out of about a hundred people. Two of them died later from their injuries, despite everything Ciel did to save them." Colbor said gravely to his shocked audience. "One survivor, his name escapes me, left the resistance after that. Not that I could blame him; the incident had utterly destroyed his left arm, and not even Ciel could really repair it. I later found out that he died while protecting his new residence from a maverick attack."

"The other survivor was Lateral, obviously." Colbor shook his head. "Unfortunately, she almost didn't survive at all. When the base collapsed, she'd been right next the one of the explosives. At the time, she'd been carrying a large slab of Titanium-X for one of Cerveau's inventions, and it protected her from both the explosion and the collapse. Unfortunately, the same slab was deformed and superheated by the explosion itself, and some of it splintered off and impaled her."

Aile cringed at the thought. When she'd been younger, she'd accidentally put her hand through a pane of glass, and the doctor and Giro had spent several days picking shards out of her arm. That had been sheer hell for her. And Lateral had taken such damage to her entire body…

Aile shivered involuntarily.

**How did she survive, if I may ask?**

"…To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. The other survivor got off lightly, since he'd been stationed on guard duty around the perimeter. Lateral though…somehow she clung to life until Ciel got to her. And Ciel…Ciel labored night and day to bring her back. I think she somehow felt responsible."

* * *

_Colbor looked over the odd scene with a sense of…déjà-vu. It was eerily similar to when Zero had turned up outside the base, his body battered and scarred from his long battles. She'd labored over him for days on end, even forgoing sleep at times. He himself had walked in on a rather…unusual scene with Ciel actually sleeping on the repair bench, having somehow snuck into the unmoving red warrior's arms. He'd simply spared her the humiliation of being found in such a position, covered them with a blanket, and locked the door behind him._

_This was somewhat similar, if a bit less…happy. At least they'd known that Zero would live. But this…_

_Lateral slept on, her badly abused systems and the life support systems fighting valiantly to keep her alive. Her breathing had at least become regular again, not to mention that Ciel had finally managed to subdue the fluctuations in her power core and processor, but her body was still swathed in bandages, a reminder of the horrific injuries she'd sustained._

_At least they'd managed to reach Area Zero before she'd gone completely. Neige had reacted with her customary swiftness to their desperate call for help, and they'd loaded the four survivors onto the transport ship she'd sent for them. Two of the survivors died en route, but Lateral had somehow managed to hold on until they reached the EMT building in Area Zero before her processor seized (The reploid equivalent to a flatline). Ciel, Neige, Alouette, and two human EMT personnel had fought tooth and nail for two days straight to keep her badly damaged processors running. Maybe it was an act of God, or maybe Zero was still looking out for them in a way, but they somehow managed to stabilize her._

_Now they took shifts watching her, although Ciel tended to ignore that if she felt like it. Like now._

_Ciel was fast asleep in a nearby chair, her head resting on the keyboard of the computer she'd been using for some purpose, most likely monitoring the little scientist's processor. The human scientist had been covered by a blanket, despite the awkward position._

_"Is she usually like this?"_

_Colbor nodded to Neige, who merely shook her head and returned her gaze to the little scientist laboring to continue living._

_"Is Lat doing any better?"_

_Neige shrugged. "That depends on your definition of 'better'. Physically, she should be fine. Ciel certainly seems to think she'll pull through, at any rate."_

_Colbor frowned. He'd been dreading this question for a while. "…and mentally?"_

_"…"_

_Neige closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of what to say. "…you'd probably be better off asking Ciel that one, actually. She's the one that seems to think she can fix it."_

_Colbor looked confusedly at her. Neige sighed. "I don't know the specifics, but basically, Lateral has suffered almost catastrophic personality damage. However, Ciel is in the process of modifying Lateral's memory data backup and systems recovery programming." _

_She gestured to the computer Ciel was laying on. Colbor noted that the keyboard had been unplugged, so as to avoid accidental input. "The way Ciel said it, I think she plans to write a self-correcting program to remove the damaged personality coding and replace it with intact coding from her backups. It really can't be done any other way, since Lateral's main system refuses to allow access given its damaged state. And we can't really do anything about that until her auto-repair systems fix the damage, which could take ages."_

"_So she'll be…normal?" _

_Neige looked at the hope in his eyes and lowered her eyes. "…no. She won't."_

_He gaped at her in confusion._

"_Her damage is too severe. Even if Ciel manages to get the code into Lateral, it could take a long time before it completes. It could take a year. Maybe several, perhaps even hundreds. According to Ciel, Lateral might be 'normal' again, but not in her lifetime."_

"_I see…" Colbor found a chair and sat down, despairing at what he'd just heard, and dreading what he might hear next. "And until then?"_

_Neige paused to think, then turned to Lateral. "And until then, Lateral will think and act as Lateral chooses to do. Only, probably more…chaotic. At least, that's what I think."_

_Neige had no idea how close she was to being right.

* * *

_

"When she woke up, it was such a shock to us; we didn't know _what_ to do with her." Colbor chuckled darkly. "The kind, funny little scientist managed to piss off just about everyone with her random behavior in less than 48 hours. In fact, if Ciel hadn't explained what was wrong with her, they might have just thought she was insane and tossed her in a bunker somewhere. Of course, knowing Lateral, that probably wouldn't have done much good."

Aile looked down the hallway, where the scientist in question was still wrestling with some wall plating. "And she's _improved_ since then?"

"Like I said, she's lucid now and then. She wasn't back then. In fact, she didn't start having these lucid periods until about fifty years after the incident. Ever since then, those periods have been increasing in frequency, although the rate of them has been slowing down a bit. I think she's been…like she is now…for so long that her personality has given it a 'normal' status. Whether she'll completely revert back to how she used to be, or if she'll settle on a sort of split personality mentality remains to be seen."

Colbor looked fondly down the hallway, where Lateral had gotten fed up with a stubborn bolt or two, and had simply beaten them into submission with a wrench she'd produced from somewhere. "I used to prefer the former, to be honest, but now… I've sort of gotten used to the wilder side of Lat's personality. Whatever she ultimately settles on is fine with me. Until then, she's the slightly insane little scientist that can build just about anything better than anyone else."

Aile looked down the hallway at the little scientist, digesting Colbor's story. Sure, she did seem to have a screw loose here or there, but was it any worse than Cedre? At least Lateral tended to be lucid at times, according to Colbor. And to top it off, she sort of liked the eccentric, childish Lateral, much in the same way she liked Cedre. Maybe it was because she'd become used to Cedre before Lateral made her presence known. Or perhaps it was because Cedre liked to blow things up, whereas Lateral liked to build things.

…wait a minute…

Aile's trusted intuition, the same one that had clued her in on X and Zero's little plan earlier, suddenly came up with an ingenious idea.

Before she could stop herself, she was sprinting down the corridor towards the scientist. "Hey Lateral!"

"Hm?" Lateral spun around, curiosity aroused.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Lateral's eyes lit up, and she bobbed her head. She almost looked excited.

"Well…" As Colbor and X looked on in askance, Aile proceeded to relay to the little scientist everything about her… condition… as well as the modifications X and Zero had made.

"…and so, I can't really do anything about it, not until Prairie and Silure finish the Sub-Tank Nubtan designed."

"Uh huh…" Lateral nodded again. "And Aile is telling Lat this…because?"

Aile smirked. "Well, I really don't want to stay cooped up on this ship until they finish…and Colbor mentioned that you can build anything you want…faster than anyone else. So…"

"Ah… I see." Lateral mused for a moment, mumbling under her breath. Then, without warning, she grabbed Aile's hand and bolted, dragging the young chosen after her at some unknown velocity. Startled, Colbor and X gave chase.

* * *

"So, if we follow the blueprints exactly, it might take a week or so to-"

Prairie and Silure's conversation was abruptly ended when Lateral burst onto the bridge. Looking around, the little scientist seized a badly startled Nubtan with a cry of "YOINK!!" Then, she bolted off, dragging Aile behind her.

Prairie and Silure, not to mention the rest of the bridge, managed one startled glance at each other before the little scientist reappeared.

"SosorrytobotheryoucanIborrowthisI'mjustgoingtoanywaysthanksalotnowI'mgonnabuildasubtankforAilebye!!!"

And with that, Lateral bolted off again, leaving Colbor and X, who had just arrived, to rapidly explain what was going on before they dashed off after the two again.

For several minutes, nobody said anything, and the silence was only punctuated by numerous blank stares at one another.

Finally, Prairie groaned and went to go lay down, feeling her forehead as she left.

* * *

Aile bent over, hands on her knees, as she tried to catch her breath after Lateral dragged her all the way off the ship and halfway through the Base to reach her lab. Lateral, seemingly ignorant to her plight, looked over Nubtan's data as fast as she could. Which, in layman's terms, is really freaking fast.

Colbor and X finally showed up, and Aile gave them a tired wave, only to flinch as Lateral threw her head back and wailed at the top of her lungs.

"Lat is missing components! Lat cannot build Aile's Sub-Tank without components! Lat needs…Lat needs…" Lateral typed madly. "Lat can bypass that…don't need that…got something that'll work in place of those…"

Mumbling incoherently to herself, Lateral suddenly whirled around to face Aile. "Lat only needs two types of components, and Lat knows where to go!"

The little scientist wrote something down on a piece of paper she'd produced from somewhere, and gave to Aile. "Go to those two locations, and find those components! I can begin without them, and I only need about half an hour to finish the Sub-Tanks after you bring them!"

And then Lateral smiled softly at Aile. "And please be careful while you're there."

Turning back to the computer, Lateral cracked her knuckles and began typing at a frenzied pace that Ciel might have been proud of, leaving Aile to dash off to collect her Biometals.

After she left, Lateral shouted, loud enough for everyone within range to hear.

"Mission start!"

Colbor couldn't stop grinning.

* * *

AN: I am not normally chaotic, so coming up with this dialogue was rather challenging. Lat might just stay on as a pseudo-main character, or she might just hover around the sidelines. Either way, I think continuing to write her is going to be…interesting.

Her character's origins are almost as convoluted and interesting as Lateral herself. Lat was derived from another character I once created for one of my other projects, which ultimately would have been a sprite comic if I hadn't run into complications while doing it. This other character basically looked like the summon spirit Undine from Tales of Phantasia (small, blue hair, wielded water/ice magic, and carried a large sword), but her attitude and manner of speaking was more like Nietzsche from Yggdra Union. Nietzsche tends to refer to herself in the third person, which is where I got the idea. Ultimately, I sort of merged that persona with one of my other characters; a trigger-happy semi-psychotic soldier named Amber, and did a little tweaking. The result, as you can see, is the weird, over-enthusiastic, sometimes-lucid little scientist that I call Lateral Roamer.

As for where her name came from, I'm not sure. The word 'lateral' just came to me for some reason, and 'Roamer' is just a cool last name to have. Seriously, say it together. 'Lateral Roamer'. Doesn't it sound nifty? I guess it did to me, which is probably why it stuck.

So what do you think? Did I overdo her personality a bit, or did I get it down pretty well? Feel free to tell me what you think of her. I created a vote on my profile, so use it.


	21. OST1: More Ammunition than God

Merry Christmas people. Since I only finished this chapter a couple days ago, I decided to wait a bit and post it on Christmas day. In other words, here's my Christmas present to you. Complete with plot advancement, a nice long battle, and a shiny new weapon system. Enjoy.

By the way, thanks to everyone who voted for Lateral. I appreciate it.

-Ainrhyr

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Twenty One

Operation Sub-Tank, Part One:

More Ammunition than God

* * *

Aile gaped in wonder as she descended through the cloud layer, high above the earth. The Hx-Armor effortlessly protected her against the thin air as she dropped towards Area L, an abandoned research sector located beyond the amusement park of Area H.

**One would think you've never flown before Aile.** Harpuia remarked as Aile watched the thin clouds part around her.

"Well, I've never flown this _high_ before. And certainly not by myself, that's for sure." Aile sucked in a breath as she cleared the cloud layer, and the earth suddenly appeared far below her. "How high up are we anyways?"

**Somewhere around 1,000 meters or so. We're currently descending to my standard long-range flight altitude of 300 meters, or about 1,000 feet, which is high enough to recover should a thruster malfunction, but low enough to view singular objectives on the ground. It's also more-or-less beyond effective buster range, and the distance offers a small amount of time to avoid surprise attacks from most surface-to-air weapons. **

Aile took that all in as she drifted about in the air. Harpuia had taught her as much as he could without physically showing her. Now, she was flying on her own, admittedly with Harpuia looking over her shoulder, but it was still her calling the shots.

Aile had decided, at that moment, that she loved flying. Not that anyone could blame her.

* * *

"And what do you think you're doing?"

Prairie glared at the group of Guardians, led by a certain little scientist, as they moved across the grounds with a mass of parts.

Lateral, to her credit, wasn't fazed one bit. "Lateral needs these components for Aile's sub tank. And, Lateral needs them for Lateral's secret weapon."

Prairie's left eyebrow magically disappeared under her hat. "Secret weapon? And what, pray tell, have you cooked up this time?"

Lateral produced a handful of papers, which she handed over to Prairie.

Any argument Prairie had been prepared to lodge with the little scientist abruptly died in her throat as she looked over the carefully prepared notes, designs, and comments. She'd seen them once before, when the young scientist had shown them to Ciel almost two centuries before.

Of course, back then, they'd been merely theories and ideas thought up by a young aspiring scientist. She'd never taken it quite this far though.

Finally, she looked up. "So, you haven't given up on this idea, have you Lateral?"

Lateral shook her head rapidly.

Prairie glanced over the papers again, reading carefully. She noted the careful comments on power output, plasma density, and a few other bits and pieces. Unlike the last time Lateral had attempted to create her brainchild, the little scientist seemed to have done an immense level of research and testing to support her theory.

Admittedly, it wasn't truly original, but it was the first time anyone had ever combined the various systems like this. If it worked out like Lateral thought it would…

"…I think you might have it this time, Lat. I really think you do. This looks like it might actually work."

Lateral brightened, but then frowned. "Is Prairie just saying that to make Lat feel better? Lat knows Lat screwed it up last time, but…"

Prairie waved a hand before Lateral started arguing. "No, no, I'm being honest. Truly, I am. This," She waved the paper slightly, "This is a work of art compared to your last attempt. In fact…" Prairie mused for a moment, then grinned. "Why don't I let you install this on the HQ, or whatever Silure plans on calling it? You did plan on putting some weapon of last resort on, so why not put _this_ on instead?"

Lateral squealed, and the Commander of the Guardians was suddenly flattened by a flying glomp. Clearly, she was ecstatic by Prairie's agreement.

Lateral's assistants, to their credit, _almost_ succeeded in hiding their smirks.

* * *

Aile leveled out at 300 meters, and looked at the vast space of Area L.

"Ok, we're here. What am I looking for again?"

**Well…** X muttered to himself for a moment. **Based on our scans of this area, coupled with Lateral's Intel, I believe we'll find the research storage area in the rear of the sector, just shy of the wastelands. If the components for a Sub-Tank could be found anywhere, they'd be in there.**

Overall, they were looking for two major things to build the specialized Sub-Tank for Aile. First, they needed the advanced energy transfer unit used in all Sub-Tank models. That particular component was located here, in Area L. However, since there was also a mass of other components that could be used for Sub-Tank construction, and since most of the Guardians were reploids anyways, Prairie had tasked Aile with recovering as many of the components as humanly possible. She had also been tasked with reactivating an old transerver in the depths of the research lab, so the Guardians could have easy access to the lab's data and other components.

Her helmet beeped suddenly. "Aile here. What's up?"

Nobody answered. The helmet merely beeped again.

"Huh. That's odd…" Aile blinked as she located the source of the beep. It was one of Harpuia's defense programs, designed to alert Aile when something pinged her with radar. But that meant…

**Missile Trace! Incoming missiles!** Harpuia yelled at her. **Take evasive action!**

Long-range flight mode yielded in favor of aerial battle mode, and vapid wonder gave way to instinctive alertness. Let it be said that Aile is never slow to react to new situations.

Aile kicked out to her side and fired her leg boosters, darting instantly to the side and obtaining a rather unpleasant whiplash in the process. But she'd managed to dodge the rain of missiles that suddenly appeared below her.

"Whoa!!" Aile ducked left and bolted right, and missiles kept appearing around her, all threatening to blow her out of the sky. And at her altitude, plus terminal velocity while wearing heavy armor, that sort of fall was guaranteed to kill her.

**Enemy radar sources below us. Lots of them. **X reported. **But I've only got one missile source. Judging by the energy signature, I'd say it's a major assault mechaniloid. I'd suggest the possibility of a Pseudoroid, but this much firepower seems more up Fefnir's alley, and we've already defeated both the Model F Pseudoroids.**

"We're sitting ducks up here!" Aile flinched away from another damnable missile that appeared in front of her. Harpuia's proximity radar sang out, and Aile bolted away from the source, neatly evading two more. "Guys, anything below I can use for cover?!"

**Straight down, there appears to be some transport containers and their respective rail transport systems. You can seek cover among them. Just watch out for missiles on the way down, okay?**

"Got it L." Aile shot downwards, then gasped as a missile snuck up behind her and exploded against her back. The Hx-Armor's shields barely stopped it, and even then, the explosion crushed her right main thruster, sending her into a downward spiral.

"Oww…" A combination of adrenaline, instinct, and memory of Harpuia's improvised flying lessons overrode Aile's daze, and she somehow righted herself, offsetting the lost main thruster by redirecting its energy into her helmet and leg boosters.

The fact that she was shooting downwards, coupled with the fact the missiles were coming from a single source, gave Aile time to recover, and by the time the thing launching the missiles had retargeted her, she was flying low, seeking out ample cover.

* * *

Nobody saw him leave the Guardian Main Base. This was of little consequence, since nobody saw him enter in the first place.

_Mission complete, in a manner of speaking. _The figure thought to himself. Sure, he hadn't gotten everything he'd wanted, but he still knew more now than he did earlier. Which had sort of been the idea.

_No point in staying here any longer. Might as well move on to my next objective._

The air shimmered for an instant as the figure engaged his teleporter. Then, he was gone.

* * *

"That was unpleasant." Aile grimaced, but obediently held still while the Biometals examined the damaged thruster.

**Well Harpy, it's pretty much a complete write-off. **Model L reported. **I estimate you'll need at least two days of down-time to repair it enough to use it again, or a fully charged sub-tank.**

Harpuia swore unhappily, and Aile was half tempted to join him. Without flight capability, she'd have to walk to the target location, and if she couldn't get the transerver at the end of the area online, then she was set for a _long_ walk home.

Not to mention the rain of missiles she would have to dodge on the way there.

**To our advantage, there is plenty of overhead coverage around here.** Model P remarked. **Unfortunately, this cover will diminish the closer we get to the target point.**

A trio of missile shot down and exploded on the platform behind them, as if to remind them of what they had to make it through.

Aile sighed. "Well, I guess we can't just sit here." She swapped for the Px-Armor, since its higher agility and the enhanced senses that came with it would prove invaluable for dodging unseen missiles.

She faced down the enemies that appeared to have been installed between her and the target point with a cold indifference that even Zero might have envied.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Aile, come in."

The girl in question paused under an overhang, eliminating the two galleons who might have objected to her presence with her kunai. "Yes Prairie?"

"We've run some more detailed scans of the area you're in, and we've picked up some things we didn't notice before. For starters, there's a Pseudoroid at the end of the area. It's positioning suggests it's the source of your missile storm. The scans indicate a high probability that it's got the other half of Model P."

_**My**_** power? Since when have I been able to cast forth missiles in such quantity?**

"Regardless of how it happened," Prairie cut him off, "That's not all we got either. We've detected an active data storage system in that lab. Emissions analysis gives it an 89.4 percent chance of containing data pertinent to the data disk you brought back from Area F."

"So I should add recovering the data and knocking off the Pseudoroid to the list of things I already need to do today? Got it, Prairie. Aile out." Aile simply cut the connection. "Let's get moving."

**My, you're touchy today Aile.** Model L remarked.

"I blame being shot out of the sky. And you are hardly one to talk about being touchy L." Aile grumbled, setting out again despite the missiles. "What about you and Zero? I don't know what you guys did to him, but he hasn't spoken a word since."

She could still feel Zero's presence, but it was a silent, brooding presence.

**He has been forbidden to speak for the duration of this mission, in penance for his harsh words. Barring, of course, critical situations that might require his expertise.** Model P spoke up in L's defense.

"Isn't that a bit much?"

**Hey, he didn't insult **_**you**_**.** Model F spoke up indignantly. **He insulted **_**me**_**. Well, and L, and P, and Harpuia… And he did insult X a bit…**

F mused a bit on that note, during which Aile defeated a large number of galleons and even shot down a handful of missiles.

**Try not to think too much F. It's bad for you.**

**Zero! **L yelled indignantly as the red Biometal spoke up. **You're not allowed to talk!**

**Sorry, force of habit. It's become second nature to insult Fefnir's intelligence. How do you think I beat him all those times?**

**Ugh…** X groaned as the Biometals began squabbling again. Well, except for him and Model P, both of who largely knew better. **I swear, they act like children sometimes. And I give it maybe three seconds…two…one…**

**X! **Model L almost sounded like she was whining. **Tell Zero to shut up!**

**…And right on cue, they drag me into their problems. Gods above, I feel like a kindergarten teacher.**

Aile grinned slightly, ducking under a plasma bolt. Whether it was intentional, or simply a case of Zero being Zero, the Biometals had succeeded in cheering her up a bit.

* * *

At long last, they entered the transit center for the rail transport system used to move equipment and supplies through Area L. Standing in the center of the room was a gigantic mechaniloid.

"About time you showed up kid. I was getting tired of waiting."

"You must be the Pseudoroid." Aile looked up at it. It was huge. In fact, this Pseudoroid almost looked as big as Lurerre's angler fish body.

**This…**_**thing**_**…is supposed to represent me?** Model P did not sound happy. Not that anyone could blame him. After all, the other Pseudoroid that had his power had resembled a monkey.

"Hmph. I assume you're looking for the data this area contained?" The large Pseudoroid laughed. "Well, I've already downloaded the data to my internal data disk. If you want it, you'll have to find a way to defeat Protectos, the Model P Pseudoroid!"

**That certainly sounds like an invitation to me.** Zero remarked. X had decided to end the debate earlier by permitting Zero to speak, provided he kept his insults to a minimum. To his credit, Zero had done remarkably well in that aspect, so far.

Any further conversation was abruptly cut short as Protectos leveled his arms and launched a massive number of small missiles at Aile, the same missiles that had been shooting at them since they'd arrived in Area L.

Aile flung a handful of P's kunai, but she couldn't possibly destroy all of them, and she was forced to dive aside as dozens of missiles exploded against the surface where she'd just been. Shifting to the X-Armor, she quickly fired a fully charged plasma bolt against the Pseudoroid's chest.

Which impacted and splashed over the armor with no effect.

"What the hell!?"

Protectos took advantage of her confusion and launched a number of explosive charges onto the ground around her. Oddly enough, they were all colored differently. They also all exploded differently, although Aile didn't really notice that while the ground exploded around her.

"Gah!" A lance of plasma-based explosive energy slammed into her armored side, causing her to stumble and, by a stroke of luck, duck under the other explosions.

**Well, whadda know, they're shaped charges.** Model F, the resident explosives expert, remarked. **Stay close to the blue bombs, they only explode upwards.**

"Ok." Aile watched carefully, as Protectos had just launched another group of explosives. Moving quickly, she found herself surrounded by four blue bombs. Just as Model F predicted, they exploded into pillars of bluish plasma, leaving her completely untouched. "Good call F."

"Hmph. As if it would be that easy." Protectos growled. He launched more explosives, and this time, several blue explosives landed right around her. But this time, he also leveled his arms at her and fired his missiles.  
Thinking quickly, Aile swapped to the Fx-Armor, and opened fire with both knuckle busters. But Protectos simply continued his rate of fire. Meanwhile, the explosives around her had yet to go off. Clearly he expected her to either succumb to his missile barrage, or to attempt an escape, in which case the bombs would catch her.

And the wall of exploding missiles was rapidly approaching her. Like it or not, Aile couldn't match that barrage with the Fx-Armor's knuckle busters alone. Even if she could keep up that level of fire, she couldn't see all of the missiles coming at her, so she couldn't target them all.

And even better, with the Hx-Armor in its present condition, she couldn't get enough height over the blue mines to escape their explosive radius unscathed.

Terrific. Unless she could think of something, she was completely and utterly screwed.

And without warning, the barrage stopped. The mines simply exploded, leaving Aile unharmed.

"Huh?"

"Wipe that stupid look off your face girl. I simply don't want to waste my missiles on you. After all, why waste hundreds when I can use just _one_?!"

And Protectos's back slid downwards, revealing a gigantic missile hidden within the Pseudoroid's monstrous frame.

"W-Where'd that come from!?"

**A giant missile. Definitely compensating for something. And I've seen bigger ones, at that.** Zero remarked cheerfully, unimpressed.

**Zero, now is not the time.**

**You're no fun X. Aile, can I deal with this one? I haven't done anything all day.**

"Farewell, little chosen." The missile shot skywards, and Protectos suddenly folded in on himself, his head and limbs vanishing behind armored plates.

Not a good sign, the Pseudoroid protecting himself against his own missile.

"Zero, can you do anything about it?"

**I might be able to stop it. If nothing else, I can definitely protect you from it.**

"Ok."

And abruptly, the Zx-Armor engaged, with Zero at the helm. Which was somewhat obvious when 'Aile' smirked in anticipation.

**"Alright, let's see what we can do about this." **The missile was too high to be fired on by the Zx-Buster, so that left the sword.

**"**_**Kougenjin**_**!"** The Zx-Saber shone as it was swung, and obediently launched a green shockwave towards the distant missile. Zero repeated the attack several times, hoping that his aim was sufficient.

High overhead, the missile had just completed its terminal maneuvers, and began rocketing downwards. Two of Zero's _Kougenjin_ attacks managed to hit. Unfortunately, the missile's heavily reinforced head simply shrugged them off.

**"Well shit. That rules out pretty much everything but hitting it with the sword itself, and there's not enough time for that."**

_"What do we do then?"_

**"Relax Aile. Remember that one extremely powerful technique I told you about? Watch carefully."**

Just as the missile came down and hit the ground in front of them, Zero raised his/her fist and slammed it into the ground.

_**"RAKUHOUHA!!"**_

The missile's power exploded through the entire area, brutally damaging everything it touched and turning the entire place into a twisted ruin.

Two things were unaffected by the missile's destruction. One of them was Protectos, safeguarded by his thick armor, specifically designed to resist this particular missile.

The other thing unaffected was the ungodly powerful sphere of energy that Zero had summoned around them, strong enough to counter even such a powerful blast. Granted, the _Rakuhouha_ attack wasn't designed to be used as a shield against another mass of energy, but neither Zero nor Aile cared at the moment.

All that mattered was when the smoke cleared, Aile was still standing, untouched by the missile's fury.

**And **_**that**_, Zero remarked with what might have been a smirk, **is how you endure giant missiles.**

"Wow." Aile was impressed, to the point of almost not noticing that Zero had vacated the driver's seat, giving her control back.

Protectos came out from behind his protection, and glared. "Impressive. But I can tell that took extremely precise timing, and I doubt you can do that twice in a row.

And to Aile's extreme shock, what appeared to be the head of a _second_ giant missile appeared where the first used to be.

**He is standing right over an open loading hatch.** Harpuia reported. **Who knows how many of those missiles he has available.**

Zero's smirk vanished. **Well that sucks on so many levels. I can't use the **_**Rakuhouha **_**again for several hours, at minimum.**

**Wait a minute…** Model F thought for a moment, then surprised everyone with a short bark of laughter. **Hah! That idiot! I know how to beat that missile!**

Said missile suddenly launched from the Pseudoroid's back. Protectos again folded up into his safeguarded mode.

**This moron is using a uni-directional array guidance system to target his missile, and the array emitter is right on the front of his ugly face. Once he's folded up like that, he can only aim it forward. And since his body is impervious to his own weapon, the space directly behind him won't be affected. Get right behind him, and he can't touch you! **

"Great! Thanks F!" Aile dashed behind the armored behemoth, crouched down, and waited for the inevitable explosion.

**As a note of interest, I observed that his head and limbs were the only things shielded behind his armor. **Harpuia noted. **I would be willing to assume that his head and limbs serve as viable weakpoints.**

Aile made to reply, but the missile's explosion cut her off.

Even huddled behind Protectos, the mass of energy almost caught her. What seemed to be a wall of fire collapsed in front of her, causing her shields to react by it's proximity to them. But it was just an automatic action at best, for the explosion came no closer to her.

And then it was over. The smoke cleared for the second time, revealing two survivors yet again.

Protectos emerged from his protection, only to flinch in pain as Aile swiped at the back of his head with the Zx-Saber.

"Tch! You little…" Protectos launched a mass of mines, forcing Aile to back off.

"What? You annoyed that I didn't die from you precious _one_ missile?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am!" The Pseudoroid growled. "Now I'll just have to use _hundreds_ of them!"

**Here we go again.**

Protectos leveled his arms at her and, just like before, countless small missiles issued forth to destroy her.

Shifting to the Px-Armor, she evaded with extreme prejudice. Missiles exploded all around her, but none of them hit her. At least, not until they forced her into an area Protectos had previously seeded with mines.

Aile gave an ungainly yelp as a green mine suddenly appeared in front of her, almost out of thin air. She barely turned aside enough to avoid setting it off. She recovered her balance and slid to a halt.

"Guys, I think we're in trouble."

A mass of green-colored mines had simply appeared around her. Protectos had probably launched them along with his other mines. Given how they flashed when she approached them, they were likely triggered by proximity.

And they surrounded her in a tight horseshoe pattern, with the only opening facing directly towards Protectos.

"And such a waste of missiles this is." The Pseudoroid lamented dryly. "And all to kill one annoying little Chosen One who dared to oppose Master Serpent. At least you'll die knowing you were unable to match the full firepower of Protectos, the Model P Pseudoroid!"

Aile shifted to the Fx-Armor, the only armor she had with half a chance of holding off the barrage, and took aim.

Missiles flew at her. Hundreds and hundreds of them. Aile fired back desperately with her knuckle busters, but like before, the wall of dying missiles edged closer and closer to her.

_**Firepower**_**!? You **_**dare **_**pass this pitiful show of force off as **_**firepower**_**!?**

_Unlike_ before, however, was the presence of a certain pissed off Biometal.

**Figures. **Zero groaned, although there was a pleased note to his groaning. **Idiot Pseudoroid, spouting on about who has the biggest gun. Now you've gone and woken up Fefnir.**

**Aile!** The newly awakened Fefnir yelled. **Let me show this chump what **_**real**_** firepower means!**

"Uh, if it gets us out of this, sure."

With access to his original schematics, Fefnir took over Aile in a flash of light, essentially re-engaging the Fx-Armor. Of course, the armor itself didn't look all that different from the previous version, asides from slightly bulkier leg armor.

The difference was in the guns.

"**Let me show you my secret weapon! The weapon I designed myself two centuries ago to defeat Zero!"**

The first, and smallest change, was the orange-tinted HUD visor that slid into place over Aile's eyes. But that was just the beginning.

The outer surfaces of the two buster weapons flashed briefly, then opened slightly, revealing recessed weapon ports hidden throughout the weapon. There were only a few, given that their size was almost equal to the main barrels of both weapons (Which were _still_ spewing out plasma, by the way).

Where there were only two guns and two barrels, there were now twelve, with each gun bearing three weapon ports extending diagonally forwards from the flat outer sides, two ports extending diagonally forwards on the top and bottom of the guns, and of course the main barrel itself aimed straight forwards.

"**Guidance systems…ok. Plasma capacity…adequate. Targeting array…**_**shit**_**. Of all the things to be missing, it had to be the Omni. Oh well, have to make do without it. Initializing stationary locks."**

The additional bulk in the armor's legs revealed itself to be several pneumatic spikes, which promptly slammed themselves deep into the ground, locking Aile in her current position.

**"That's to offset the recoil." **Fefnir offered in way of explanation.

The wall of dying missiles was very close now.

Without warning, each individual missile was identified on the orange HUD visor by a small marker, indicating that it was targeted. This surprised Aile, since she actually couldn't see all of the missiles to begin with.

**"All systems check out. Even without my original Knuckle Busters or the Omni, I can still overpower you! Volleyfire System, ENGAGE!"**

Each and every weapon port on Fefnir's knuckle busters spat plasma. Then they did it again…and again…and they kept firing. Aile felt Fefnir strain to keep her body level from the immense recoil.

And to Aile's surprise, as well as the surprise of the other Biometals, the diagonally-fired plasma bolts _arced _back through the air to detonate on the incoming missiles.

The advancing wall of shrapnel ground to a halt under the weight of such power.

**"During the latter years of the war with the Resistance, Neo Arcadia designed and built a new type of independent, standalone missile defense system. It combined hundreds of multi-directional laser cannons with a unique Omni-sensor targeting system, capable of finding and targeting an immense number of incoming threats at one time, regardless of what those threats might happen to be. It was designed to single-handedly defeat the missile barrages of warship fleets, or missile attacks from outer space. It was simply called the 'Omni', due to the 'Omni Array' it used as its centerpiece."**

The standoff continued for a brief moment. Protectos continued firing hundreds of missiles at Aile/Fefnir, who retaliated with hundreds of plasma bolts in response. And not one plasma bolt missed the missile it had been aimed at.

**"I, following my defeat at Zero's hands during the incident with Elpizo, was looking for a weapon to give me an edge over Zero and his lightning-fast attacks. With some help from Leviathan, I implemented a plasma guidance system into my original knuckle busters Sodom and Gomorrah, giving them the power to arc plasma bolts towards a given location, somewhat like arcing an artillery shell. But without a means to localize targets, I couldn't do much with it, since my onboard targeting systems could only keep up with twenty or so individual targeting locations. Until I learned about the Omni, that is."**

The wall of fire where the two forces met began to shift, slowly at first, but with increasing rapidity, towards the Pseudoroid.

**"I swiped a copy of the Omni Array, and installed it into my Knuckle Busters, thus giving me the potential to aim and fire concentrated plasma volleys anywhere I want. Even without it, the impression left on the Biometal by it's existence is enough to effectively target and eliminate up to 700 individual targets, or target just one individual target that many times at once."**

The strain on Protectos's face was evident. Smoke began to rise from his arms as he pushed them beyond their operational capacity, in a desperate attempt to push back the oncoming storm of orange plasma.

"**And that's just with my current level of plasma output, not to mention my current lack of the Omni Array itself. If I had my original plasma generators, my original Knuckle Busters, and the Omni Array, I could theoretically localize, target, and fire upon approximately 1.8 **_**million**_** individual targets. What's more, I could generate enough plasma to actually **_**hit**_** each of those targets with a single plasma bolt, at precisely the same instant. Or, inversely, hit a single target with almost 2 million plasma bolts at almost the exact same time. Not even **_**Zero**_** would be capable of dodging all of them."**

"**Unfortunately, I 'died' before I could test it on Zero. But that doesn't mean I can't test it on **_**you**_**!"**

Protectos gave a frantic scream, just as the oncoming storm of plasma broke through everything he could put in its way. And the truth of Fefnir's words came out as Aile's HUD finally identified only two targets in its way.

Protectos's head and arms.

Bolt after bolt after bolt of plasma erupted in the Pseudoroid's face. Metal charred and vaporized under the weight of that impossible barrage. Each and every bolt went home on the mechaniloid's weak spots with eye-widening precision. If God himself had guided those plasma bolts home, they couldn't possibly have been more accurate.

Finally, the incomplete Fx-Knuckle Busters overheated, and Fefnir was forced to cease fire. The air surrounding the Knuckle Busters was hazy with heat as he lowered them at last.

"**And **_**that**_** is the definition of true firepower." **Fefnir pumped his/her buster-clad fist upwards. **"**_**Nobody**_** outguns Fighting Fefnir! _Nobody_!!"**

And before them, what remained of Protectos, the Model P Pseudoroid, toppled to the ground with a dull crash.

It was silent for a moment. Fefnir basked in the joy of unleashing his arsenal once again, while the others just gaped in surprise.

Finally, Zero spoke up. **Well Fef, I guess that proves it. Sure, you can be a bit slow at times, but you're certainly not stupid. Not if you managed to make that thing just to defeat **_**me**_** with it.**

To Aile, it almost felt like Fefnir was grinning like an idiot at Zero's admission. Finally, at long last, he'd proven himself as a capable, _smart_ warrior on par with the legend himself.

**I'm still going to make fun of you though.**

The moment promptly derailed as the Biometals began bickering again. X shook his head with a sigh.

**Typical. Leave it to Zero to deflate someone's ego a bit.**

* * *

"Aile has completed her mission." Gardenia reported. "She's sent us the data disk, and she's currently in the process of restoring power to the transerver."

"Good." Prairie leaned back in her chair. Truth be told, she'd been worried about Aile, given the circumstances. However, it appeared that Aile had pulled through without injury, which was good to hear.

"Hmm?" Gardenia glanced at her console again. "Aile's submitted a small text file with her mission report… 'Name submission'?"

Prairie rolled her eyes. "Ah, right. You probably missed the announcement earlier. Silure got tired of trying to come up with a name for the HQ, so he told everyone to submit their ideas to him, so he could pick one. I caught Aile before she left and told her about it, and she said she'd come up with one during the mission." She shrugged. "Not too many people submitted one, so who knows what will get picked."

"Well, at this point, I think any name would do, Prairie. The HQ has certainly gone by long enough without one."

"True enough." Prairie stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm going to put together some solders to collect sub-tank components. Hold the fort for me, ok?"

Gardenia nodded, and Prairie exited the bridge.

* * *

AN: There we go. For those of you wondering, the Volleyfire System is my interpretation of the guided buster shot weapon that Fx uses in the game. Granted, I've greatly modified it a bit, explaining it as a self-designed system by Fefnir in his hopes of besting Zero once and for all. Sure, it's powerful, but most of you might note some choice weaknesses in it, such as immobility.

For those of you that have been paying attention, I've basically been giving each Biometal a powerful ability upon their 'awakening', for Aile to utilize as she sees fit. The Weapon Copy System for X, sword techs for Zero, flight system for Harpuia, and now the Volleyfire System for Fefnir. I'm still working on what to give Levi and Phantom for their abilities though. It's difficult, particularly in Levi's case, since I can't think of anything I could give her that wouldn't be too overpowered. I'll work on it.

And finally, I've decided that I'm too indecisive to pick a name for the HQ on my own, so I've decided to drop a few ideas here, and see what you guys think. Feel free to let me know what you think.

* * *

Aile's submission: Traveler – _A ship that wanders from place to place. No port is its home, for the skies of the world call to it more._

Colbor's submission: Stormchaser – _It always follows the troubles of the world, occasionally getting caught in the very storm it pursues._

Lateral's submission: Invincible – _A vessel whose shields, armor, and weapons render it nigh invulnerable. Not truly invincible, but it certainly comes close._

Prairie's submission: Aerie – _A fortress that soars high above the earth. Its name is also described as the nest of a great bird of prey._

Fleuve's submission: Hyperion – _Named for the titan that was the father of Helios, the original sun deity. It also means 'He who looks from above'._

Marguerite's submission: Albatross – _Named for an extinct bird of immense size capable of remaining aloft for days on end._

Gardenia's submission: Defiant – _A fierce fighting vessel created to defy and defeat those who would deny the world its freedom. _


	22. OST2: Master and Apprentice

What! An update!

Yes, I have, in fact updated. I apologize for my unexplained hiatus. While I've given a brief description of my issues on my profile, I am of the opinion that there really is no excuse for my tardiness. Perhaps there is something about the school season that motivates my thoughts and gives me ideas. It could explain why I did almost nothing over the fall, as I did not have school classes during said season.

Regardless, I have returned, and I bring a new chapter to you. If any of my old readers are still keeping an eye on my story, I reiterate what I said long ago: I shall finish this story. With any luck, I'll be inspired enough to churn out the next chapter in less time than it took for this one (not that it would be that hard).

I'm sure you've listened to me ramble on long enough. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

And to those wondering where I'm heading with this, I'll be making a very brief section at the end to hint at what is to come. I daresay you shall enjoy it, brief as it is.

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen  
**_

Chapter Twenty Two

Operation Sub-Tank, Part Two:

Master and Apprentice

* * *

The abandoned research sector of Area L was a storm of activity as Guardians rushed left and right. Some were carrying Sub-Tank components, and the rest were rushing to gather more. They had to hurry, since with the defeat of Protectos and his troops, the natural mavericks in the surrounding wasteland were slowly beginning to reclaim the area.

Of course, it wouldn't be a problem had Aile remained in the area. Unfortunately, she had already returned to the base to deliver her components to Lateral. So Prairie had decided to bite the bullet, and deployed Cedre to guard the perimeter, with Carrelet and his unit backing her up. Various explosions rumbled across the area, reminding the Guardians that one of the most eccentric, trigger-happy Guardians of all was watching their backs while they moved the components to the base.

Whether or not that was supposed to comfort them remained to be seen.

* * *

"What do you mean, I can't use it!"

X sighed unhappily. He'd been expecting this since they got back from Area L, and he'd been dreading her reaction to what he'd just said.

Harpuia came to his defense. **The fact of the matter is that Fefnir's Volleyfire System requires a sophisticated targeting unit, allowing him to locate and lock on to his targets. Now, he could get away with that in Area L because a heavily compressed version of the Omni array driver was locked away within Model F. However, the full system was the only thing he had that could link up with your mind via the biolink, permitting you to personally target those enemies.**

** In other words Aile, **Zero spoke up, **Fefnir crammed every scrap of firepower he could into Model F, but the idiot neglected to bring along the targeting system that actually allowed him to **_**use**_** it. And since you're human, your cranial wetwork isn't capable of keeping up with the Volleyfire System on its own. That Omni array would have served as an interpreter of sorts, doing most of the work for you and actually letting you use the System to its fullest. Unfortunately, like I said, Fefnir doesn't have it.**

Fefnir said nothing. He was either embarrassed at his lack of foresight, or angry at himself for making a fool of himself so soon after managing to prove himself.

"So, it's useless to me is what you're saying?"

**Not…exactly. **X said carefully. **We've managed to establish a link of sorts with the M.E.G.A. System, although it isn't perfect. You can still use it to unleash ridiculous amounts of plasma in any general direction, but you won't be able to specifically target anything with it. Not until Fefnir recovers the targeting system, or until Leviathan awakens and helps him write a new one. Either way, its capabilities will be dramatically reduced for some time when you personally use it.**

Aile was silent for a moment as she digested this. Finally, she shrugged. "Oh well. It can't be helped, and it's certainly better than nothing." She gave the Biometals a slight smile. "Besides, it's not like I _need_ that much firepower at the moment anyways. I'll be fine. Plus, I've always got X's weapons to play with."

Thanks to the X-Armor's ability to copy weapon systems even when inactive, Aile now had four weapons to use with X's Variable Weapon System: Lurerre's Ice Arrow, Hurricaune's Volt Crescent, Protectos's Wraith Missile (His small missiles, sadly unusable at the moment), and Flammole's Long Flamethrower, which X had extracted from the data Fefnir had stolen from Flammole.

Aile wandered towards the airship, musing on how to use the new weapons in her battles.

* * *

"Here you go Lateral."

Lateral squealed cheerfully as Aile handed her the Sub-Tank components she'd acquired in Area L. The little scientist promptly deposited them on a nearby table, going to her computer and marking it in.

"Okay, got it! Now Lat needs Aile to go to Area J and find some AWPOs."

Aile raised an eyebrow. "Awpos?"

**An acronym; stands for Artificial Water Purification Organisms. **Model L explained helpfully. **You see, long ago, some great destructive event pretty much annihilated a huge chunk of the Earth. The oceans in particular were extremely contaminated, and even now, several centuries later, we're still trying to deal with it. AWPOs were developed some time ago as one of the means to combat the massive pollution of the oceans.**

"Okay…that doesn't exactly tell me what they are."

**That's why I'm here, Aile. This is my area of expertise, after all. **L ignored the snort Zero gave her and continued. **AWPOS are basically artificial algae farms mated with nanomachine colonies. They were designed specifically to feed on pretty much anything that doesn't belong in seawater. Toxins, chemicals, heavy metals, you name it. And while those plants aren't exactly immune to most of these pollutants, the nanomachines they're mated with are programmed to keep the plants intact and healthy down to the cellular level. And the nanomachines get their energy using the brine given off naturally by the plants as a fuel source. It's basically a self-sufficient water purification system. Thousands of them have been deployed in the past 200 years, and they've contributed a great deal towards cleaning up the oceans.**

"Right!" Lateral exclaimed. "But what interests Lateral is that the nanobots keep the plants healthy and alive by repairing any damage to the plants' cellular structures. If Lateral can obtain a sample of the nanobots and their host plants' cells, Lateral can synthesize a farm of nanobots using Aile's cellular structure as a base!"

**So, you'll make a Sub-Tank with a farm of nanobots in it, specifically oriented to repair Aile's damaged tissue? Sounds useful. **Zero mused. **I don't recall that in Nubtan's blueprints, though.**

"The original blueprints had some kind of resonance device to speed physical healing or something. But Lateral's Sub-Tank will work much faster, and be much more efficient as well!"

Lateral went to a large pile of equipment in the corner of the small lab and pulled out an odd device, which she then handed to Aile. "Go to Area J and use this to get Lateral some AWPOs. And get some from different cultures too, so Lateral has some variety to work with." Lateral smiled softly at her. "And please be careful."

Her reservoir of sanity spent for the time being, Lateral turned to the Sub-Tank components left on the table, a wrench in one hand, some kind of screwdriver in the other, and a very familiar semi-crazy look in her eye.

Thankfully, Aile was already rushing out the door as Lateral pounced on them with a wild yell.

* * *

**Ah, finally, an environment I'm familiar with.** Model L almost sounded happy.

Aile's eye twitched as she took in the enormous body of water in front of her. Her last encounter with such an environment had not been pleasant, if memory served, and she certainly didn't want a repeat of _that_ particular episode.

Giant fish, torpedoes, and a very painful headache came to mind.

**Aile, this is the sort of place my armor was created for! **Model L gushed cheerfully at the sight. Clearly, she didn't share Aile's mentality. **Jump on in, and let me show you what I can **_**really **_**do.**

Aile hesitated briefly, then sighed and leapt into the water, engaging the Lx-Armor as she did so.

Despite Aile's misgivings, the Lx-Armor performed just as well as Model L said it would. Once Aile was in the water, the water jets on her helmet and boots took over, letting her maneuver through the water just as easily as Model H would through the air.

**If Lateral's directions are accurate, there should be about four purifier platforms within five kilometers of here. There's a few more further out, but it's quite a reach, and I doubt we need more than that.**

"Sounds good to me L. Let's go find us some Arpas"

**Awpos, Aile. They're called Awpos.**

"Right, them too."

* * *

The bridge of Guardian HQ seemed emptier than usual. Since the airship was grounded still, the Base's surveillance network was largely superior, since the airship usually observed the situation directly. Because of this, the task of keeping an eye on Slither Inc. was left to the operators on base, giving the HQ's operators some much needed time off, minus a token watch.

Said token watch, namely Marguerite, groaned dramatically as her console beeped and cheerily proclaimed the words 'GAME OVER'.

"Aww… I'll never beat Ilethas's high score at this rate, let alone Miss Lateral's." She slumped in her seat, leaving Totten to pat her back awkwardly.

_"Um, I'm sure you'll manage it eventually. You just need practice… and maybe some rest too, given that Miss Gardenia hasn't shown up yet to relieve you."_

"Mmm, I suppose." Marguerite gave the elf a small grin. For some odd reason, she and the little hacker elf got along very well. She'd even taken to giving her some of her energy crystals, letting the elf return to the witch-girl form that she'd had when she'd run with Zero. Nowadays, Totten helped her manage communications to and from the HQ, and she even took to staying with Marguerite in her room.

"Oh well." Marguerite punched a couple buttons. "Aile should be finishing up soon. Maybe I've got enough time for one more round."

And she was about to, until Tulip's console beeped on her left, drawing her attention. Tulip largely did analysis and sensors, while Gardenia did ship functions and Marguerite did communications. Sometimes they overlapped, such as during battle and emergency situations, but Tulip usually kept her analysis duties to herself. She wasn't exactly the most social person around.

"Tulip hasn't been here for hours. What could she be analyzing?" Marguerite typed in a command, and Tulip's console routed the alert over to hers. "Analysis of the data disk Aile recovered in Area L…96 percent matchup to data disk recovered in Area F…scanning for matching data emissions…"

Then she got to the alert itself. "Possible match to Area L data disk located. Location…_mobile_?" She paused for a moment, then she read the rest. "Current location: underwater tunnel, approximately 62 km W/NW of Area J. Heading is east, towards Slither Inc."

Marguerite paused briefly as she digested the information. Then, she moved into action with the haste of an operator of Guardian HQ.

"I need to send out the alert to the Base and Miss Prairie. Find Gardenia and Tulip. And then find someone to intercept…maybe Maquereau's unit..."

_"Um, isn't Miss Aile in Area J right now?"_

Marguerite could have smacked herself in the head. Clearly, she'd been there too long.

"Yes, she is, I completely forgot! That's almost the perfect position to intercept it, now that I think about it. Totten, can you raise Aile while I get Miss Prairie?"

_"Of course. I'll get right on it."

* * *

_

"And that's all of them!" Aile exclaimed as the device popped out of the access port. "Now we can get out of this place. Being underwater for so long is really uncomfortable after a while."

**What do you have against water anyways?** Model L grumbled. **It's not like it did anything to you.**

"My skull says otherwise. It still remembers the last time I entered a body of water deeper than 6 feet."

**Aile, if you're still bitter about the incident with Lurrere and the torpedo, need I remind you that **_**you**_** were the one who rammed it head-on, thereby laying the blame for your headache solely upon yourself?**

"Who's side are you on anyways, X?"

**I am on nobody's side. While I acknowledge an innate dislike of water on account of your inability to swim, I am also noting that that particular incident with Lurrere was entirely **_**your**_** fault. I am simply being neutral in this argument.**

Aile was about to tell X exactly what he could do with his neutrality (and in language Zero might have approved of, too) when her helmet beeped at her.

_"Miss Aile, come in please."_ An unfamiliar voice spoke to her. Zero perked up almost immediately.

**Is that you, Totten?**

_"Ah, hello Zero. It is nice to speak to you again. It has been a while, has it not?"_

**About two centuries, just like Nuppie and Nubtan. But I doubt you called just for that.**

_"You are correct Zero. Miss Aile, an enemy unit has located another data disk similar to the ones you located in Areas F and L. They are currently transporting it via an underwater tunnel towards Slither Inc."_

"Another disk?" Aile frowned. The disks they'd picked up so far had been heavily encrypted, badly damaged, or both. In theory, the more data disks they had, the better their chances of deciphering the entire thing. "Where is it now?"

_"Currently, the unit is approximately 36 kilometers west of your position, heading due east."_

"Anywhere we can intercept it?"

_"I'm working on it. Please give me a moment…" _Aile winced as a mild wave of static rolled across the circuit.

**Totten's one of the best hacker elves I've ever met. She's probably piggybacking our signal to get a better fix on the enemy.**

_"Good guess Zero. Aile, please head north for approximately 4 kilometers. You will locate an artificial basin, which is where the underwater tunnel exits. It is wide enough to offer decent maneuvering space for an underwater battle. If you hurry, you should reach the basin at about the same time as the enemy."_

**Sweet!** Model L cheered. **An opportunity to show off what I can do!**

"Don't get ahead of yourself L. We've still got to find it first."

Aile jumped up and triggered Lx's water jets, allowing her to maneuver freely through the water. She angled herself for a horizontal boost at maximum speed.

_"Wait."_

Aile paused, returning to just floating neutrally. "What is it? Something else?"

_"Well…I don't know."_ The hacker elf sounded unsure. _"I'm picking up a pseudoroid signature, but it's…different. It feels…_familiar_…but I don't know why. Please be careful, all of you."_

"I'll do my best, Totten. Aile out."

Aile re-aligned herself, but stopped herself again. "Wait, pseudoroid signature? That would be…Model L, right?"

**That sounds about right. **Harpuia spoke up. **And given that we have already recovered both halves of all the other Biometals, this is probably the last pseudoroid.**

**Sweet! **Fefnir yelled rather excitedly. **That means we're almost done! Once we get Levi back, we can go after Model W!**

**Don't get ahead of yourselves. We still need to awaken her and Phantom in order to get the passwords. And before that, we still have to battle this pseudoroid and recover the data disk. Not to mention that we should definitely complete the Sub-Tank for Aile before she goes to such a dangerous place.**

Fefnir deflated a bit at X's comment. Lacking further interruptions, Aile finally boosted off through the water to intercept the pseudoroid.

A handful of galleon divers looked on, but since they didn't try to attack her, she paid them no mind.

Had she known they were observing her, she might have thought otherwise.

* * *

"Hah! So they fell for it." Serpent chuckled to himself as he watched the young Chosen shoot off through the water. "Pseudoroid and data disk together. The perfect opportunity to obtain both. Naturally, she wouldn't be able to resist such a prize."

Prometheus shook his head wearily. And to think, he was usually the one who took risks. "I think you're underestimating her. _Again_."

Serpent shot the scythe-wielding reploid a look, then turned away. "Perhaps I am. But you forget that she poses a great threat to my plans. And as you yourself discovered, her Biometals will intervene on her behalf if her life is in jeopardy. With them to support her, my original plan to destroy her balance is all but doomed to fail. And with such legendary beings as X and Zero waiting on the sidelines, none of my minions is capable of attacking her head-on with any reasonable chance to win."

"So you're luring her into a location where your last pseudoroid will have a colossal advantage."

"Yes and no. As we have just observed, Model L seems to be the sole Biometal with extensive underwater capabilities. As the last pseudoroid in my possession happens to possess the other half of Model L, she will be unable to 'awaken' whatever personality Model L may contain within it's depths, thereby preventing it from bringing it's full power to bear."

Prometheus nodded slowly. "So, in other words, you're preventing the other awakened Biometals from intervening on her behalf, since they're as limited in water as she is."

Serpent gave him a curt nod. Prometheus leaned back in his chair. "I dunno about this. I mean, I've seen this 'Leganchor of yours, and he didn't really impress me. Hell, _I_ could probably beat him in an underwater duel."

Prometheus paused as Serpent gave him a rather unsettling smirk. "Of course. Leganchor is not supposed to defeat her. Wound her, maybe. Tire her out, perhaps. But catch her off-guard…most definitely."

Serpent tossed Prometheus a data disk, and Prometheus's eyes widened when he was what was on it. "Where on earth…"

"We found that while widening the area around the Model W core. It was nearly destroyed, yes, but I managed to rebuild it. According to it's memory, it actually _fought_ Zero not once, but twice. Admittedly, it lost both times, but then again, who hasn't lost against him?"

Prometheus _almost_ chuckled at that. He himself knew of maybe one being who could claim that award, and he was right next to Zero in Aile's head. "Okay, I'll buy that. But again, Zero's beaten him before, and on grounds of his own choosing at that. What's to say that he won't come to Aile's aid?"

Prometheus blinked, then actually scooted himself back a bit as Serpent erupted with wild laughter.

"Zero or Aile, it makes no difference! They are both using the same flawed body."

"…flawed?"

Serpent spread several data disks across his desk. "While it is far more difficult to intercept the Guardians' communications now that both of their major bases are at the same place, it is far easier to intercept that of their patrols. Several patrols have gone to Area L following Protectos's defeat and recovered numerous components necessary for constructing a Sub-Tank. Furthermore, observing the girl in Area J has yielded unexpected fruit. And while I cannot come up with a reasonable conclusion, your sister has a theory that seems to make sense."

Prometheus looked over the data disk in question slowly as Serpent continued.

"Put shortly, there is something very, very wrong with that girl's physiology. Something that has the Guardians scrambling to recover Sub-Tank components. Something that has the girl herself recovering nanomachine colonies designed solely to repair biological material. The conclusion we've come to with that is that they are making a Sub-Tank to repair her biological matter, and there aren't that many problems a human body can have that leave it alive and functioning, let alone combat capable, that fits those criteria. And as you can see," Serpent gestured to the aforementioned data disk, "I've found the perfect candidate to take advantage of any of those conditions."

Prometheus was silent for a moment, then his face slowly paled. Serpent saw that, and laughed.

"Exactly. You see, I've been going about solving the problem of that Chosen the wrong way. I've been sending soldiers and pawns against her, when all I needed was an _assassin_."

* * *

Slither Inc featured the same structural weakness of the Guardian Base. To be specific, air vents. They were a very useful feature to a skilled intruder, such as the one that now occupied them.

Concealed within a vent high overhead, he grimaced at the data scattered between Serpent and Prometheus far below him. The fact that Serpent had discovered Aile's condition, or some of it, was as unsettling as it was enlightening. Serpent could not effectively tap the Guardians' communications, probably due to it's evolution from the underground Neo-Arcadian Resistance, but he had still uncovered some things that really should stay hidden.

_At least he didn't find out the _reason_ for Aile's new condition._ He thought to himself. That was guaranteed to open up a brand new can of worms should Serpent find out about it.

The surprise had been the being they'd discovered near Model W's core. He was moderately surprised that it had survived, let alone relatively intact, but he wasn't really worried. Zero knew Aile's limitations, he'd know better than to let Aile get hurt. As a general rule, anything Zero had beaten before he could beat again, regardless of what body he might inhabit. In fact, he'd proven that fact several times before.

_Besides_, he thought as he extracted himself from the shaft, _She's got X looking over her shoulder too, not to mention all of X's Guardians. Between the six of them, Aile should be relatively safe.

* * *

_

"Achoo!" Aile just managed to disengage her armor's facemask as she sneezed violently. Thankfully, she was out of the water at the time. "This place sucks. If I catch a cold here, I'm blaming you L."

**Why me?**

"This is _your_ environment, right? That means I can blame anything that happens _in_ it on you."

L made to counter her, only to be interrupted by a polite cough from Harpuia. **If I may interject, the basin is directly ahead of us, and my proximity sensors are reporting that something large is closing in on our location. Perhaps you can save the argument for a more convenient time, say, **_**after**_** we defeat the pseudoroid?**

Harpuia's dry tone was not wasted on them. Aile resealed her helmet and jumped back into the water, grumbling sullenly under her breath until X chastised her for her language.

The basin rumbled around them as Aile entered a tall, but narrow chamber, crowned with a pair of massive door-like structures.

Model L whistled slowly. **Now this is a piece of work. Aile, this whole room is a floodgate that regulates the water level in the basin. It should open and close at regular intervals, so if we wait a bit, the gate should open and give us access to the basin itself. Now hopefully, this holds true for all floodgates that lead to the basin, so we should enter the basin at the same time as our opponents.**

"Guess I'd better get ready then. Any strategies to keep in mind guys?"

**Move quickly.** X said immediately. **Our opponent is the second Model L pseudoroid, and it is probably accompanied by several other mavericks optimized for underwater combat. They will likely possess superior mobility, extremely potent weaponry, or both. Unless you absolutely need to attack at range, keep the Lx-Armor on at all times. It is best suited for underwater combat, and it's armor integrity and shields are somewhat more potent than the rest.**

**That's how you'll **_**survive**_** this encounter Aile. **Zero spoke up. **As to how you'll **_**win**_** though…** He mused for a moment on that note. **As a general rule, underwater combatants are not usually armed with melee weaponry. Even for units designed for it, swinging a melee weapon underwater is not the most efficient method of dispatching your foe. Levi's halberd is an exception to that rule. I suggest you move around and figure out what the enemy's got in terms of weaponry. Then move in close and whack it until it dies. Underwater, Levi's halberd is probably the only close-range weapon more powerful than my sword.**

"And what if I can't get close to it? These enemies might be more mobile than me. And don't forget, even though L is suited for underwater combat, that doesn't mean _I'm_ any good at it."

**In that case, open up the range as best you can and use Fefnir's guns if you have an opening. Remember the elemental triangle; most aquatic mechaniloids are vulnerable to high temperature weapons. Admittedly, his power will likely be reduced somewhat, but any hits you land might stun them for a bit.**

Abruptly, the massive gate began to slowly open, just as Model L predicted. "Alright then! Here we go!"

Aile launched herself forward, only to be pushed backwards into the chamber as something _big_ surged into the room, pushing the water before it back. A mild curse died on Aile's lips as she saw the sheer size of it.

"Hmph. So here's where you've been hiding." The…_thing_…growled as it looked down at Aile.

Aile gaped upwards at the massive pseudoroid. "That thing is _huge_! That's the Model L Pseudoroid?"

**Looks an awful lot like that giant armored form Levi used against me way back when. **Zero remarked coolly. **But at least Levi knew how to use what she had to her advantage, not to mention picking a proper battlefield. This room is **_**way**_** too small for him to maneuver effectively.**

** That's kind of a given Zero. You know, considering this ugly bastard is about the size of the room itself. **Fefnir snarked in response.

"Any ideas guys?" Aile drifted back cautiously as the massive pseudoroid edged into the room, the massive floodgates closing behind it. She hadn't planned on having to fight in such a confined space.

"Trying to interfere with our plans…" The pseudoroid grumbled. "I suppose it's asking too much to expect someone so young to understand what we're trying to do. You should respect your elders and listen to us old folk."

**What was that?** Zero snarled. Aile ignored him and glared up at the giant mechaniloid.

"For your information, I've got six Biometals floating around in my head, and each of them is at _least_ a century old. I think I've got the 'listen to the old folk' part down pretty well, even if they don't act like it."

"And yet you banter and bicker with them as much as possible?"

**Well, we **_**can**_** be quite irritating when we put our minds to it.**

** Zero, now is not the time.**

Aile ignored them. "Besides, who are you to ask for respect? You, Serpent, and the rest are hiding the truth from people, turning people into Cyber Elves against their will…Yea, you guys are great role models."

"Hah! Sometimes ignorance is bliss, child."

"Like _hell_ it is!" Aile spat, swinging the Lx Halberd defiantly. "You're going around hurting people, and you expect them to be happy about _not_ knowing what's happening to them?"

"Tch. I wouldn't expect one so young to understand our reasons. And your insolence is starting to irritate me." The pseudoroid swept itself upwards majestically, ignorant of the fact that the tips of it's fins scraped against the chamber walls. "I, the Model L Pseudoroid Leganchor, will have to teach you some respect."

**With **_**what**_**, your oversized ego?** Zero growled. **You can't even move to evade in this small space, you idiot, whereas we can dodge like it's nobody's business. Aile, I suggest you subscribe to Fefnir's philosophy: Aim for the center of mass and **_**fire**_** until it **_**stops**__** moving**_**.**

"With pleasure." Aile shifted to the Fx-Armor and aimed in the Pseudoroid's general direction.

To say it was an easy battle would be an understatement. Leganchor's attacks consisted primarily of summoning smaller mechaniloids to charge Aile and firing ice-tipped spines from his body. Both attacks could easily be evaded, even underwater with the Fx-Armor. The only thing that posed an actual threat was when he overpowered his water jets in an attempt to suck her into lethally spinning propeller blades, and that was easily escaped with a simple switch to the Lx-Armor. All the while she was pounding on his body with plasma bolts, which was virtually impossible to miss.

"Bah…youth is wasted…on the young…" The pseudoroid gasped out as his body finally failed him.

**Yea, well, old age is overrated. Trust me, I know.**

"Hush Zero." Aile shifted to the X-Armor, letting Model L float over to the remains. "Is the other half of your power there?"

**It is…although I'm having trouble localizing it…must be this ugly jerk's thick skull in the way. Give me a moment.**

"You do that L." Aile glanced around. "Didn't Totten say that another data disk was here too? I don't see it."

**Now that you mention it…** Harpuia glanced around. **I can sense some emissions similar to a data disk, but I can't pin down an exact location…** He glanced in Model L's direction. **Maybe he has it. L, would you be so kind as to locate it as well?**

**Yea, sure. Just let me find the Biometal fragment first. You know, the one that's got the other half of my **_**being**_** in it.**

Aile ignored them as they started jabbing at one another. Something was bugging her about this whole thing, like an itch she couldn't scratch. And she had no idea what it was.

"Did this fight seem easier than normal to any of you?"

X paused. **…Yes, now that you mention it. Granted, he was overconfident to the point of arrogance, but still…**

** I seem to recall…what was his name…that pseudoroid in Area H. He wasn't exactly an easy fight, per se, yet he was only a distraction while Serpent attacked the HQ.**

"I remember that, Zero. Maybe Serpent's attacking something elsewhere?"

As Aile and the Biometals threw a few ideas at each other, L finally found what she was looking for.

**Awesome! Hey guys! I got my Biometal **_**and**_** the data disk! Cool, huh?**

Model L turned to look at Aile and the rest, and just managed to spot _something_ form behind them.

**Eh? Aile, **_**Move**_**!**

Alarmed, Aile jerked to the side, just as a pair of razor-sharp spines lashed out towards her.

"Whoa!"

The spines retracted back into the odd space, which vanished.

"Your reflexes are impressive, human."

An inky blob appeared above them, and a large squid-like mechaniloid emerged from it.

"Zero has taught you well."

Zero sputtered for a moment. **Y-you! I thought I killed you!**

"Surprised, Zero?"

Zero twitched visibly. **…Actually, now that you mention it, no. I should have expected something like this. At least **_**one**_** of you assholes was bound to come back to life for the sole reason of making my life miserable. It happened last time too. Why the hell can't anyone I've killed actually **_**stay**_** dead? Well, Iris excluded, but **_**still**_**…**

"Uh, Zero…who is that?"

Zero made an irritated noise. **He's Tech Kraken. An assassin of the Zan'ei army of Neo Arcadia, and a fairly good one, too. Back when I was still alive, he wanted to get revenge on me for offing his leader. We fought, I won, end of story… or so I thought. It seems I didn't do a good enough job of killing him.**

"You are correct, Zero." The mechaniloid floated down to rest on the floor. "The minions of the reploid called Serpent revived me for the sole purpose of dealing with you and your human companion. As I have been called to serve once again, I shall finally fulfill my oath to Lord Phantom! Zero! Have at you!"

Tech Kraken suddenly lanced forward, and Aile stumbled back in surprise, swapping to the Zx-Armor as she did so.

**Hold.**

As suddenly as he'd charged, Tech Kraken halted as a cold voice of authority spoke out. A voice that all present except Aile recognized, and even she could recognize the sheer obedience that voice commanded.

"No…it couldn't be…Zero killed you!"

The voice spoke again, this time with an air of amusement. **And yet Zero, my kin, and even Master X stand before you alongside this child. Why then, pray tell, are you surprised by **_**my**_** presence? I was the first to enter Cyberspace by the act of my demise, and I was also the last to leave it's influence behind. My memories are shrouded no longer. Show your respect apprentice. **_**Acknowledge who stands before you**_**.**

And to the complete and utter shock of all present, Tech Kraken did exactly that. Landing on the metal floor, the assassin _knelt_ before the purple Biometal that now hovered in front of Aile.

Model P turned to X, and executed something of a bow. **My lord and Master X, I, Twilight Phantom, have returned to your service at last.**

** I see your flair for the dramatic entrance has not diminished in the slightest, brother. **Harpuia noted.

**And yet, to check the advance of my wayward apprentice, I required nothing less. In which case, it was not only expected of me, but **_**required**_** in order to stall the battle before it began.**

** You'll notice that he didn't exactly **_**deny**_** it Harpy. **L grumbled. **And I must say it's about damn time you came out of your shell Phantom.**

"Er…" Aile's gaze nervously darted between the kneeling assassin and the purple Biometal floating alongside her. This whole situation had done nothing more than confuse her. Phantom noticed her apprehension.

**You are confused, child. I apologize, but my entrance was necessary to prevent an unnecessary battle. You see, I have awakened, like my siblings, and am therefore able to assist you. I apologize if the change in my personality has unsettled you. You may call me Phantom, and in the past, I led the Zan'ei army, meaning that Tech Kraken answers to me.**

"Okay…"

** So then. **Phantom turned towards the kneeling mechaniloid. **From what I understand, my demise at the hands of Zero caused you to swear holy vengeance on a person who could outmatch your master? The being who taught you personally how to fight was bested in a straight up fight with the God of Destruction, and you allied yourself with **_**Weil**_** of all people in an attempt to accomplish what I failed to do?** Phantom swayed side to side, a motion much like shaking his head. **I could swear I taught you better than this. I only fought Zero head-on because circumstance demanded it, and I paid the price. Ours is the way of the ninja: wait in the shadows for the perfect moment to strike. Our way is not to blunder into a headlong collision with a being infamous for destroying anything and everything that crosses his path. **

** Well, excuse me.** Zero grumbled. Everyone ignored him.

"But Lord Phantom!" Tech Kraken sputtered gamely.

**You will be silent.** Phantom snapped coldly, cutting off Kraken's blustering. **Your master and your master's ruler stand before you, and you make excuses? Nothing can excuse the fact that you have openly attacked Master X's champion. The fact that Zero stands beside him is irrelevant.**

"That is not so, Lord Phantom! This X is not the Master X that commanded us long ago."

**Irrelevant. This X is the being that foresaw my creation. He and he alone is Master X before my sight. That should be enough for you as well.**

Tech Kraken was silent for a heartbeat. Then he spoke again, and his voice was cold. "So you would have me cast aside my vengeance, Lord Phantom? You would have me cease my war with the being that destroyed Neo Arcadia?"

**Hey, I didn't do anything to your blasted city aside from dropping that idiot copy of X. **Zero spat out before Phantom could reply. **You want to pin the blame for that on someone? Blame Weil. In case you forgot, he's the one that built that damnable death ray space station that blew it up. And you teamed up with him. So, the whole blowing up Neo Arcadia thing? Yea, that was **_**your**_** fault, too.**

Tech Kraken snarled at Zero, but Phantom intervened before he could speak. **Enough. Zero is correct in this regard. And yes, I **_**would**_** have you cast aside your vengeance. It is the will of Master X, and therefore my will as well.**

"Is it, Lord Phantom?" Tech Kraken spat angrily. "It seems to me that you have sided with Zero as well! Who are you to say what Master X's will is? I've half a mind to declare you mave-"

**You will be silent.**

Phantom spoke softly, but his voice was so cold it seemed to cut across the chamber like a sword, effortlessly cutting off Kraken's words. The room fell silent as Phantom spoke again.

**I am Twilight Phantom, servant of Master X. The **_**true**_** Master X, who created Neo Arcadia, and created me to safeguard both it and him. As long as he stands before me, I shall obey him without question. If he commands me to fight side by side with my executioner, I shall do so. If he orders me to bear no ill will towards my killer, I shall bear no grudge. That is the purpose of my existence: to obey Master X, without exception. That is the purpose of **_**your**_** existence as well. My will is **_**always **_**that of Master X. Disobeying me is tantamount to disobeying our ruler. And to disregard the command of Master X…** The purple Biometal's eyes narrowed. **You would betray your city, your ruler and all who serve him. **

Nobody spoke. Phantom had taken Tech Kraken's accusation against Zero and thrown it back in his face.

"You are…accusing me of being a Maverick." It was a flat statement, rather than a question.

**You willingly aided Weil, an enemy of Master X and of Neo Arcadia. The fact that you aided him against Zero, another enemy of Neo Arcadia, is irrelevant. And 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' has no power here. Furthermore, you aided him in the construction of the Ragnarok space station that was later used to destroy Neo Arcadia. Even further, you willingly attacked Aile, Master X's champion and partner. If Serpent had resurrected you as you claim, you must have been aware of that fact.**

"…"

**However…** Phantom mused for a moment. **It is customary for the Zan'ei to duel in order to settle disputes. As you intend to battle us anyways, I will offer you the chance to reject my claims against you.**

Aile blinked. "Eh?"

**In other words, Aile, I am inviting my wayward apprentice to duel me to salvage his honor. If he wins, I will take back my accusations and permit him to continue his vengeance against Zero. If I win, then his will was not enough to overcome his status as a Maverick, in which case he will perish. It is a custom of the Zan'ei army that I command, and of which Tech Kraken is part of.**

"I accept! I reject your accusations and will defeat you so that I may destroy Zero!"

**Hey, leave me out of this.** Zero muttered. He was again ignored.

**One condition applies, however.** Phantom continued. **As we are now, neither Zero nor I can do battle without Aile's assistance. Therefore, you will not seriously harm her. **

**That's quite a handicap Phantom.**

**And yet, we are in an environment that gives him a considerable advantage over myself. I consider that a fair trade, Master X.**

X thought it over. **…I don't like the fact that we are placing Aile's safety on a duel, but there seems no decent alternative. Very well, you may duel. But only if Tech Kraken and Aile agree as well.**

"I accept the conditions, and will claim victory over you, Lord Phantom. I will not be denied my vengeance!"

**I see...** Phantom then turned to Aile, who had largely been left out of the conversation at that point. **Aile, I humbly request the use of your body for my duel against my apprentice. He wishes to regain his honor and continue the battle he started against Zero, but I can no longer battle him on my own.**

"…" Aile was silent. She was really confused by the sudden turn of events, not to mention that most of the conversation had gone over her head in the first place.

'_But Model P…Phantom…he needs my help. He wants to fight this guy. And honor or not, he can't do it without me.'_

"…okay, I'll do it." She finally said. "Just be careful, okay?"

**Of course. Rest assured, no harm shall befall you. You have my word.**

Aile nodded, and there was a brief moment where she…stepped back from herself, much like she had when Zero had borrowed her form against Protectos.

A brief flash, and Aile was clad in the Px-Armor, only Phantom was in command this time.

The chamber was not large, but without Ledgeanchor's bulk, there was more than enough space for a duel between the two. Phantom and Kraken migrated to either end of the chamber, while the other Biometals floated off to the side and out of the way.

X floated between the two. **Now, in order to ensure Aile's complete safety, I will be empowering Phantom's shields with my own power. Phantom, you will yield when you sustain five direct blows. Kraken will yield when he is no longer capable of combat. Do you accept these rules?**

"**Yes."**

"I accept."

X nodded. **Then you may begin whenever you are ready.**

And with that, X floated away to join the other Biometals.

* * *

"…interesting…"

Pandora cocked her head slightly as the conversation finally ceased and the staredown began. She'd heard of Phantom, and while she'd been unaware of Tech Kraken's presence, she recalled that he followed a similar code of honor to his master. Small wonder he'd been unable to kill Zero before; Kraken may have been a fair hand in a normal fight, but he was far too fond of dramatics to make a truly capable assassin.

Her radio crackled to life.

"_I'd bet a good portion of E-crystals that Serpent didn't know about Phantom, or even Kraken's sense of loyalty towards him. Otherwise, he'd probably have just collapsed the floodgate on top of Aile while she beat Ledgeanchor._"

"Agreed…"

Prometheus said nothing as he watched the scene unfold through her camera.

"I wonder…if Phantom's skill has…atrophied…during his slumber."

"_Guess we're about to find out, sis._"

* * *

No signal was given, nor was one needed. They stared at each other, and then, without preamble, they _moved_.

Phantom's opening hail of kunai was easily turned aside by Tech spinning one of his bladed tentacles, while another intercepted Phantom's slash. Phantom quickly slipped to the side, taking full advantage of Aile's lithe form, and evaded the obvious counterattack. A kunai appeared in one hand, held like a knife, and was promptly used to slash the offending appendage, causing Tech to pull back slightly. Phantom went to press his advantage, but a flurry of sharp icy bullets forced him to turn aside.

To those watching, it was less like a battle, and more like a dance between two masters of the art. Tech Kraken moved quickly and fluidly despite his size and bulk, and Phantom even more so. If Phantom was aware of the water slowing him down, or the disadvantage of fighting in an unfamiliar body, he gave no indication that it bothered him in the slightest.

And despite the fact that nearly a dozen attacks had been launched in so much as a second's time, neither had landed a blow on the other.

Phantom quickly leapt back to avoid a slash from an elongated tentacle, creating some distance between them. Tech took advantage of it, and opened fire with countless ice bullets.

Phantom paused for an instant, and a quartet of kunai circled his hand, forming into a wildly-spinning shruiken. But instead of throwing it, he instead spun around, using the spinning weapon as both shield and sword and deflecting or destroying any projectile that came close to him.

An opening seemed to appear in the middle of the bullets, and Phantom launched the shruiken through it, dodging the returning fire.

But Tech had anticipated the attack when he saw the opening, and just barely managed to duck under the bladed weapon. It spun past Kraken and disappeared across the chamber.

For an instant, both combatants halted, merely glaring at one another.

"You have become lax, Lord Phantom."

Tech Kraken idly moved to the side as the shruiken returned from the side of the chamber, slicing only the water around it as Tech maneuvered his tentacles around it.

Phantom raised an eyebrow. **"Is that so?"**

The shruiken suddenly exploded into the four kunai that formed it, shredding one of Tech's extended tentacles and damaging another before he could pull them clear.

The mechaniloid hissed in pain, and suddenly flung himself around, spewing out dark ink. Within moments, the entire room was engulfed, and nothing was visible, despite the floodgate's water pumps.

"**Really now…"**

There was another loud yelp of pain as Phantom found Tech Kraken in the ink-shrouded chamber. Within moments, the powerful pumps of the chamber cycled enough water that the two were visible again.

"**Blinding me also blinded you apprentice, but while my senses are unaffected, your sonar is baffled by the metal walls of this chamber. You just handed me the advantage. I could swear I taught you better than this."**

"And you did, Lord Phantom."

Without warning, several tentacles appeared from the corners of the room, coiling around Phantom's limbs before he could escape.

"You taught me that the best way to secure victory was to let the opponent assume he had the upper hand, did you not?"

Phantom, despite being bound up, almost smiled. **"I suppose I did. I thought you only had four tentacles. No doubt you kept two or three backup units concealed within your body."**

"You wound me, Lord Phantom, underestimating me like that."

"**I suppose so."** Phantom agreed calmly. **"However, you should probably know…"**

Whatever Phantom wanted Tech to know was lost as he was suddenly interrupted.

**HEY! Remove those tentacles from Aile, you pervert!**

The room promptly fell silent. All eyes, even Phantom/Aile and Tech Kraken's, slowly turned towards the light blue Biometal that had spoken.

Nobody moved until Zero started snickering.

**O-okay, I honestly didn't expect this one. Alright Levi, I'll bite. How'd you get interested in te-**

**I would suggest you cease that line of thought Zero. Now.**

Leviathan's acidic tone could have peeled paint. Zero wisely fell silent.

Phantom coughed. "**Sister, while I appreciate your concern for Aile's well-being, you need not worry. While my apprentice has certainly jumped the moral fence several times, I highly doubt his own honor would allow him to commit such a…**_**vulgar**_** act."**

Leviathan sniffed. **Yea, well, you said two centuries ago that his ridiculous honor would keep him loyal to you, and look how well **_**that**_** turned out.**

X groaned. If he possessed limbs, he would have probably issued a facepalm to himself by now.

Phantom rolled his eyes, or rather, Aile's eyes. "**I would like it noted that he **_**is**_** still loyal to me. He is merely having trouble suppressing his anger against Zero, a weakness that both you and I have fallen victim to as well."**

She said nothing, although she did glare angrily at him. Leviathan was an exceptional fighter, but her ability to hold an argument was somewhat lacking. Probably because her temper was worse than Fefnir's.

"**Furthermore, continuing where I left off before you interrupted me, my apprentice had just informed me to not become overconfident before he seized me. He should probably be aware that I am never overconfident, and assuming that he has the advantage is folly."**

And without any warning, Phantom vanished, Tech's tentacles immediately closing on empty space.

"What! A solid illusion!"

"**One of the special powers of my Stealth Drive. You of all beings should have expected such from me."**

Tech spun around, a hail of ice bullets flying forth and hitting…nothing. Phantom wasn't there.

"What is this? My Lord Phantom, hiding from his adversary? Remove yourself from the shadows and face me like a warrior!"

There was an odd echo as Phantom laughed, his laughter echoing around the chamber. **"I am facing you like a warrior, apprentice. A warrior that fought Zero head-on and lost. I had my reasons for combating Zero the way I did, but I merely proved what I already suspected; Zero cannot be fought face to face. I have learned, my apprentice, that on the battlefield, too much honor can kill even the greatest of warriors. And while I hesitate to quote a phrase I heard from Zero, 'The only fair fight is one you aren't prepared for, and I am never unprepared'."**

**Huh**. **I did say that back then, didn't I? **Zero mused thoughtfully.

Tech rapidly extended his remaining appendages in all directions, and spun around, creating a slow vortex. Water swirled inside the chamber with increasing rapidity.

Water which began to churn behind seemingly nothing off to Kraken's left.

"Found you!" Tech exclaimed as he launched more ice bullets in the general direction of the silhouette formed by the moving water.

"**Hm. Well done."**

Phantom stepped into the moving current, dismissing his stealth as he coolly drifted away from the ill-aimed attack.

"**However, you have outsmarted yourself, my apprentice."**

Phantom threw a wall of kunai at the mechaniloid. And not only was Tech Kraken spinning too quickly to simply evade the attack, but his spinning arms were positioned so that he could not interpose them in time to save himself.

Tech saw the trap he'd led himself into, and did the only thing he could. He began to spin even faster, hoping that the current around him was too fast for the kunai to travel through.

He barely made it. The kunai didn't have the force behind them to penetrate the core of the vortex, and harmlessly flashed to either side.

However, Phantom had again vanished, and the water was now churning too violently to be able to tell where he was.

"If I cannot find you, then I shall make it so you have no place to hide!"

Tech began firing ice bullets in every known direction. Within moments, the immense vortex carried them every which way. Nearly every inch of the chamber was assaulted by a deluge of icy projectiles.

But not all of it.

Without warning, the vortex subsided, and the rain of ice ceased.

"…w…what…?"

"**That was unwise, apprentice."**

Phantom had appeared directly above Tech Kraken, the only area in the chamber untouched by either churning water or sharp ice. No obstacle had halted the flight of his knives into Tech's body.

"Haa…well…done…Lord Phantom…"

Phantom backflipped gracefully off of Tech as the mechaniloid fell backwards limply.

It was over.

* * *

_"Well, that tears it. Serpent's gonna be pissed, I'll bet."_

"Very likely."

_"Eh. No helping it, I guess. But I'd love to see his face when he sees that his foolproof plan failed cause of a little honor. Hah!"_

Pandora raised an eyebrow. "Brother… are you okay? You seem…unusually happy…"

_"Well, I'm in our room. Seems our mutual friend has left us a little present. Gods alone knows how he found out about it, but, quite personally, I couldn't care less. Come on back, Sis. You'll see what I mean."_

"Understood."

* * *

Aile, clad in the X-Armor, looked blankly at the fallen mechaniloid. She still didn't quite understand why he'd chosen to fight Zero or Phantom, but she could at least respect the honor he'd held while doing it.

**We should go.**

She glanced at the purple Biometal.

**He has fought and fallen with honor. However, as a member of the Zan'ei, his power core will self-destruct in several minutes, to do as much damage as possible to whatever might try to salvage his remains. His funeral pyre, so to speak. There is nothing left for us to do here.**

Aile nodded slowly, but for a moment she didn't move.

Then, she slowly raised her buster-clad arm in an impromptu salute to the fallen warrior.

"Let's go."

Aile turned, and left the chamber. She didn't look back.

* * *

…

…

**So Levi, tentacles?**

X managed a brief groan before chaos ensued.

* * *

AN: No, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking there. I apologize.

To be honest, putting the end on this chapter was one of the hardest things I've ever done for this story. I had at least half of it done by the end of summer, but I simply ran out of steam and stalled. As a result, this chapter might not have meshed together as well as I'd like. If you see anything wrong, feel free to let me know.

Phantom's special power is his Stealth Drive, which is pretty similar to his stealth ability in MMZ, although I will flesh out it's capabilities next chapter.

By the way, I've settled on a name for Guardian HQ. It shall also be announced next chapter, when the HQ finally flies again.

And to keep you guys looking forward to good stuff, here's a teaser about what's to come.

* * *

_**Flash-Forward**_

...

"It's time..." Prairie grimaced faintly. "I hate to send you in there alone, but we don't have much choice. You have to stop Serpent from recovering Model W."

...

"Behold!" Serpent gestured magnificently. "The power to control the world! The true form of Model W!"

And behind Serpent, a terrible shape began to glow malevolently.

...

"W-what?" Pandora gaped at Aile. Or, more accurately, at the fact that she was completely unscathed from the attack.

**Hah!** Leviathan laughed. **You didn't think I'd help Fef create something so ridiculously powerful as the Volleyfire System for no reason, did you? I have my own ace up my sleeve!**

...

**Here we are.** Zero intoned quietly. **Within this chamber lies the power to destroy anything, even Model W. But there is a test you must pass first. And while we can lend you our power, we cannot lend you our advice or guidance. If you accept this challenge, you must do so on your own.**

...

"Do you have any idea who you're challenging, little human! I am the nightmare of all who exist! The Destroyer; He who's coming foretells the end of all things!"

Raw power surged through the chamber, and reality itself seemed to break down as he roared his battle cry.

"**_I AM THE MESSIAH!_**"

* * *

Oh yes. Fun times are on the way.


	23. The Lair of the Beast

After yet another long wait, here's the next chapter.

I apologize for yet another long hiatus. I managed to do rather poorly with my classes last term, so I had to crack down and actually study. Coupled with work, and a few other problems, and I am now just finishing the chapter.

But regardless, here it is. And hopefully, this is the last of the really long waits between chapters. This chapter was the last chapter I hadn't planned out ahead of time, and generally speaking, the next few chapters I've been envisioning in my head for several months (or is it years? I lost count.). I'll make no guarantees, given my track record, but I'm fairly sure the next chapters won't take nearly as long to get written.

Anyways, here it is. Hope you guys are still keeping your fingers crossed. Progress, however tenuous, is still being made.

Let me know what you think.

Edit: Interesting to note, the site apparently does not like an exclamation point and a question mark sharing personal space. Which is too bad, since I use them fairly often. I wonder if there's a way around that. Hmm...

-Ainrhyr

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

**_Rise of the Chosen_**

Chapter Twenty Three

The Lair of the Beast

* * *

"GRAHH!"

Prometheus ducked as a glass cup soared over his head and shattered on the wall behind him.

Serpent sat at his desk, fists clenched as he glared furiously at nothing in particular.

"Honor? An assassin, and the apprentice of one of the most successful and lethal assassins of all time, and he fights with _honor_?"

Prometheus shrugged. "In his defense, he did try to get an opening shot in, even though Model L saw it coming. I think you just underestimated how loyal he was to his old master, and it sort of fell apart from there."

Serpent didn't react to that. He simply sat and glared at the wall for a moment.

"…tch. I had hoped to avoid this."

Serpent wrote a small note, then stood.

"I'm going to Area M. Tell your sister meet me there. Then proceed to Area O, and start rounding up the mavericks emplaced there."

"Got it."

* * *

Prairie was waiting for Aile and co when they returned. As such, she was hit by the full brunt of their argument when they did arrive.

**…and furthermore, when you manage to anger my Shitennou enough that they are launching fire, ice, and other projectiles at you, YOU DO NOT HIDE BEHIND YOUR OWN CHOSEN!**

** Hey, they stopped shooting, didn't they?**

** Which was remarkably good sense on their part, but does not excuse your actions. What if they didn't?**

**She was wearing your armor X.**

**She was unprepared for an attack from her own Biometals Zero! She was not expecting you, her protector, to seek cover behind her. And for that matter, neither was I.**

**I guess your reflexes are starting to wane in your old age, huh X?**

**Oh no, you will not somehow pin the blame for this on _me_, Zero!**

**Why not? It worked the last few times, didn't it?**

Aile groaned as X and Zero continued their spat, with the other Biometals sheepishly looking on. Looking up, she saw Prairie eyeing the bickering duo, and shrugged helplessly. "Don't ask."

"Don't need to." Prairie had an expression that said she wanted to grin, but didn't want to make things worse than they already were. "This almost reminds me of when Zero and Cerveau argued into the night. Kept everyone awake. It even drove Ciel nuts, and she almost _never_ got mad."

Aile glanced sideways at the duo, who were now in each others' faces and full-on _yelling_, despite the other Biometals trying to pry them apart. Apparently, they'd touched on a particularly sensitive topic.

"How'd she deal with it?"

Prairie rolled her eyes. "She didn't. Gods know, I loved Ciel with all my heart, but when it came to Zero, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him off for anything."

Prairie paused as the commotion got worse. X now seemed to be chasing Zero around, with the other Biometals trying to stop them. Even some bystanders to the action were trying to help, but with little effect.

"Okay, this is starting to get out of hand."

Aile grimaced. "Duly noted. But it's not like we can stop them."

The Guardian commander smirked in response. "Oh, you just watch. I'm sure Zero will appreciate the irony of this."

Prairie stepped forward, and snatched both Biometals out of the air, ignoring their protests, and held them as far apart as she could.

_CLANG!_

Everybody winced as she slammed the two together violently, almost like slamming two idiotic heads together. Zero and X both fell to the ground.

Praire glared at them. "Are you two _quite_ finished?"

**Dunno.** Zero wobbled upright. **Let me figure out what direction North is and I'll see if I'm up for more.**

"Don't make me say '_Clench Your Teeth_', Zero."

**I should have known letting you watch that show was a bad idea. Guess I should have listened to Ciel.**

"About time you figured out she was right." Prairie turned back to Aile. "Aile, we're about ready to get this ship off the ground. You should head down to Lateral's lab once you get all squared away. I'll hang on to the Biometals for a bit. They still need to figure out their passwords, after all."

Prairie advanced on the unsteady duo. Aile wisely retreated, while the other four Biometals hesitantly watched.

* * *

"Cedre! SQUEE!"

"Hey Lat-OOF!"

Aile entered Lateral's new lab onboard the airship just in time to witness the little scientist launching into the air and tackling the taller soldier, squealing happily.

"G-geeze Lat. And they call _me_ the insane one."

Lateral giggled as Cedre pried her off, fighting off a smile all the while. "Haven't seen you in a while, Lat. You build anything new for me lately?"

"Mm!" Lateral nodded sharply, and dashed off to a corner of her lab, retrieving a rectangular, yet streamlined device.

"That…looks an awful lot like my old launcher, Lat. You didn't just tune up my old gear, did you?"

In response, Lateral turned and aimed the device at an innocent pile of titanium x sitting in the middle of the room.

* * *

Silure grunted as he gently cut the sliver of metal out of the hull. The vote to name the HQ had already been decided, and since things were heating up rather quickly over in Innerpeace, Prairie had decided to postpone the small christening ceremony for the newly named Hyperion until after Slither Inc. had been dealt with.

Hyperion…That had been Fleuve's suggestion. Silure had a faint suspicion that the scientist was probably elated that his suggestion had won the vote. Of course, he probably needed the boost to his ego, especially after the prank Aile and the cyber elves had pulled on him.

_KABOOOM!_

Silure jerked as the entire ship shuddered with the impact, nearly knocking him off. "What in the…?"

* * *

Aile finally uncovered her ears and picked herself up off the floor she'd flung herself to. Not counting the Guardian soldiers who'd come running to check the explosion, Cedre and Lateral were the only ones already up and surveying the carnage.

The offending pile of metal was gone…along with about 3 meters worth of bulkhead.

"That was _awesome_!" Cedre exclaimed.

"Uh huh!" Lateral casually inspected the crater in the floor. "I downsized your old plasma burst warheads, and threw in some thermite to make it burn through metal easier. Add in a few more high explosives to make it more powerful and BOOM!" Lateral threw her arms out dramatically. "Massive Damage! And a smaller warhead means you can carry more rockets, too." Lateral planted the new weapon in Cedre's hands "Here ya go, Cedre!"

Cedre looked excitedly at the new weapon as Lateral finally spotted Aile.

"Hi Aile! Did you get the Awpos?"

"Er..yea. Here." Aile slowly passed Lateral the canister she'd filled with nanomachines. Her gaze was still riveted on the giant crater in the floor.

Leaving Aile staring dumbly at the crater, and Cedre happily stroking her new toy, Lateral fed the canisters into a machine, where Nubtan was fiddling with some controls. "Okay minion! Activate the device!"

_"Yes, Ma'am"_ The little cyber elf obediently followed Lateral's direction and spun up the unknown device. The device proceeded to hum and beep, and in the span of a few minutes, deposited two objects about the same size as a Biometal into Lateral's waiting hands.

"Okay, all done." Lateral walked over, and pressed the devices into Aile's hand. "Here you go Aile."

Aile looked at the devices in question. They were approximately the same size and shape as the Biometals. On the front of the device were two gauges, one blue and one red, along with corresponding buttons on the top. The blue button also had a small image of a shield on it, while the red button had a cross.

"_Lateral combined the standard Sub-Tank with the new version._" Nubtan explained. "_They have a built in generator, so they'll recharge slowly on their own. Each gauge in independent of the other, so you can use both of them at the same time. The red 'health' gauge is the nanomachine cellular repair, and it'll fix any problems with you personally. The blue 'armor' gauge works as a standard Sub-Tank, and it'll repair any damage to your Biometal armors. You can transfer energy from the armor gauge to the health gage if you need it, although it doesn't work in reverse. Unfortunately, putting both units into the same space prevented us from fitting it with a wireless unit. We're working on it, but for now, you'll have to activate the Sub-Tanks manually by pressing the buttons on the top, or by getting Zero or one of the others to activate it for you._"

Aile nodded, and clipped the two to her belt. "Alright. Thank you."

"My pleasure!" Lateral grinned, then headed back towards the center of her lab. "Now go away! Lateral needs to work on her Phalanx some more."

* * *

**Phalanx?** Zero murmured as they headed towards the bridge.

_"Miss Lateral's secret project, or something like that."_ Nubtan replied. She'd followed to do some last-minute calibrations to the Sub-Tanks. "_I didn't catch much about it, but she's apparently been working on it for several decades."_

**Knowing Lateral, probably a gigantic laser or something. **Zero gave the impression of a shrug. **Well, whatever. We need to get moving. We can ask about it later.**

* * *

"Well, here we are."

Aile nodded. She and Prairie were standing on the bridge of the now-airborne Hyperion as it ascended to standard flight altitude.

Praire glanced at the monitor, which currently displayed a rough map of Area M, where Model W lay dormant, as well as an outline of the Slither Inc. building.

"We're currently flying towards Slither Inc. to curb the maverick threat growing in their area. The problem is, with the numbers we've estimated they have, I'll need every hand I've got to deal with them.

Prairie grimaced faintly. "I hate to send you into Area M on your own, but we don't have much choice. You have to stop Serpent from recovering Model W. It doesn't matter how many mavericks we destroy if he gets control of it."

Aile's hand unconsciously brushed against one of the Sub-Tanks hanging from her waist.

**No offense Prairie, but it's not like you have anyone to send with us that could deal with Model W.**

"That doesn't stop me from worrying X. I hate sending her into that place with only you six to rely on."

Harpuia flashed angrily. **Are you saying we are unreliable?**

Prairie rolled her eyes. "No I'm not. But you are prone to infighting, and I don't want her distracted."

**We're going to deal with the last remnant of Dr. Weil. **Zero growled. **And we all hate the bastard. I doubt we'll have any arguments about that.**

"Fair enough, I suppose." Prairie muttered something under her breath. "In any case, we're all going in blind, as it is. We've managed to decode the passwords for Area M, but the data on those data disks you've brought back is even more encrypted than we thought. We're still trying to get through, but it'll take a bit more time."

**Well, at least we'll have something to look forward to when we get back.** Leviathan remarked. **Might even be something useful.**

"Maybe." Prairie turned back to her console. "In any case, since we sort of need the transerver, I've given you one priority trans to Area A. That's as close as I can get you to Area M short of an airdrop, and it's a bit too far out of our way for that. Collect what you need and head out as soon as you're ready."

* * *

"Ma'am, Aile has transferred to Area A."  
Prairie nodded. "Alright, let's get underway. Set course for Area D, full speed. And Marguerite, try to keep an eye on Aile for me."

"I'll do my best."

"In the meantime, have all stations check system and weapon readiness. And make sure our ECCM is up to scratch this time; they will most likely try to jam us again."

(AN: ECCM is basically an ECM countermeasure. In this case, to protect against signal jamming)

* * *

Deep within Area A, beyond where she'd fought her first real battle against the giant mechaniloid serpent, even further than where she'd first met Prairie, Aile found a deep cavern. Guided by the Biometals, Aile found herself at last before a giant door fused into the rock. Surrounding the door were several computers, each displaying a letter, one for each Biometal. And situated directly over the door, as if barred in by the others, was a single letter W.

"This is…"

**This is the door that Ciel constructed to ensure that none would reach Model W. Sealed by us, the six Biometals, it prevents Model W's corruptive energies from leaking out any further into the world.** X paused. **Aile, are you prepared to face what lies beyond? Compared to the enemies you have faced thus far, Model W itself is a far more terrifying and deadly foe, even in it's weakened state.**

"I can't just let Serpent take it either. I'll take my chances."

**Very well…Everyone, input your passwords.**

With a flash, the six Biometals appeared around Aile, rotating around her like a protective shield.

For a moment, there was silence. And then…

**I am the wind that blows through the sky. **_**Ventus Airus**_**.**

The computer screen displaying the letter H began to glow with green light.

**I am the water that flows across the land. **_**Glacius Passio**_**.**

Leviathan's computer shone with pale blue light.

**I am the fire that brings heat to all life. **_**Flamma Wies**_**.**

A burning orange glow surrounded Fefnir's screen.

**I am the shadow that never leaves the side of justice. **_**Umbra Profess**_**.**

The display representing Phantom glowed with gentle purple light.

**I am the light that illuminates all possibilities. **_**Lumine Infinitus**_**.**

Deep blue light illuminated X's screen.

**I am the courage that fights for beliefs. **_**Fortitude Creed**_**.**

Brilliant red light surrounded Zero's display.

Those lights shone together, and in concert, cast their power upon the last screen, the one that bore the letter W over the door. It too began to shine with dark orange light.

The room began to shake.

**With this, the way is open.**

Unsealed by the Biometals, the door opened for her, their champion.

**All we can do now is offer you our aid, Aile.** X remarked softly. **The rest is up to you.**

* * *

"Aile's signal has vanished. She's entered Area M."

"Understood." Prairie let her gaze wander over the readiness displays. Despite the maelstrom she and the Guardians were no doubt about to dive into, she still worried about Aile. It was a leftover feeling from when she and Ciel had waited for Zero to return from one of his many missions, always wondering when and if it would be his last.

"Prairie." Gardenia brought her back to reality. "We're 10 minutes from Area D. Everyone in Area C is going to wonder what's going on, especially if we attack Slither Inc. Any ideas?"

"Well, unfortunately, as much as I'd like to denounce the entirety of Slither for this mess, Serpent seems to be the only bad apple of the bunch. Some of the upper echelon are likely mavericks as well, but the majority are just people. I've sent a small unit to Innerpeace to inform some of Slither's mid-level people about what's going on, and I've set it up for Tulip to transmit the data regarding all the mavericks Serpent's gathering in Area O. But beyond that, we'll just have to take it as it comes, I'm afraid."

Gardenia nodded, somewhat hesitantly, but before she could reply, Marguerite's monitor began flashing an alert.

"Slither Inc. airships detected in Area O. Ten…no, twenty ships are already heading towards us, and more than twice that just ignited their engines on the ground."

"One more strike against Slither Inc., now that I think about it. As far as everyone knows, they aren't even supposed to _have_ an air fleet. All of Innerpeace is going to see this." Prairie mused. "Okay, we're close enough. Tell Colbor that it's going to be Plan Gamma. Trans into Area B and make for Area O through Area D. We'll hold position here and engage the airships."

Marguerite grimaced as the numbers jumped again. "Ma'am, I know this ship is tough, but can we handle that many?"

"Right now, we're directly between them and Area C, and the city's AA weapons can't engage anything above a destroyer, much less what we've got in front of us. I've instructed Colbor to bring some heavy plasma turrets with him, and they're easily repurposed for anti-air. All we need to do is keep those warships from bombing the ground detachment while they keep the mavericks out of Innerpeace. All of you got that?"

"Yes Ma'am." The three operators chimed.

"Good." Prairie hit the intercom. "All hands, we are preparing to engage the enemy air fleet. Everyone report to your stations and standby to engage."

Prairie flipped off the intercom, and dialed up the amidships section. "Lateral, how's your project coming?"

"_All done, Prairie! Just aim the port or starboard flank at something you don't like, and Lateral's Phalanx'll rip em in half!_"

"Good to hear. I'll keep you posted. Prairie out."

Prairie leaned back in her chair and mused. _I said no to Lateral when she asked to put a big gun on the prow, yet when she comes at me with her old project, I'm all over the idea for some reason. At least I convinced her to install it amidships, but I wonder if it's as advanced as she thinks it is._

She glanced at the screen, which was rapidly filling up with enemies.

_I guess we'll just have to wait and see._

* * *

As Guardians began pouring into Area B and up to the highway, the Hyperion settled in overhead, waiting for the colossal fleet of warships to come into range. Over in the city, civilians were crowding windows and staring towards the massive showdown about to commence.

And standing on top of one of the largest buildings stood a stray figure, who observed the battlefield with a calm detachment.

_Serpent is running out of options. With the threat of Aile looming nearby, he must act quickly to recover and awaken Model W. Doing so in the fastest method would require a great deal of energy. Hence, this assault. If Serpent's mavericks break through or defeat the Guardians, he will have all of Innerpeace to harvest cyber elves from. And truth be told, with Aile gone in the depths of the earth, he could not have timed it better._

_It will all boil down to how quickly Aile can rush to her friends' aid. Courageous and stalwart the Guardians may be, but they haven't the necessary numbers or firepower to defeat a force that size. Not without a good champion like X or Zero thinning their ranks._

Off in the distance, dark shapes gathered on the broken highway that signified the division between Areas D and O. And in the skies, numerous warships, large and small, converged on the massive Hyperion.

_Soon…It will begin soon._

* * *

"_Tenretsujin_!"

Aile's technique was no longer sloppy. The well-executed uppercut slash neatly bisected the orehawk's wing, sending the mechaniloid crashing to earth. A hiss of rage followed, one that was quickly silenced by a downward swing.

The young transporter panted as she looked around. The air in Area M was stifling. There was a nameless pressure in the atmosphere that seemed to tear at her just by being there.

**That is definitely Model W's presence. **Zero grumbled. Even he felt the atmosphere. **Hang in there Aile. This pressure will only get worse the closer we get to Model W.**

Aile shivered involuntarily, but moved on regardless.

* * *

The journey into the earth beneath Area M was even less pleasant. Area M had probably been part of the heavily forested Area A before Model W's evil power had begun seeping out. What trees remained had become terrible and twisted mechanical spires jutting up from the ground. And the root system of those trees remained beneath the ground, where Aile was headed next, turning an ordinary mining tunnel into a diabolical labyrinth.

Aile headed deeper into corridors of pulsating orange metal, and the pressure mounted continuously. It almost felt like she was trying to walk through solid stone. And the numerous mavericks and traps didn't help.

**This place blows.** Fefnir muttered unhappily, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Aile paused to relieve a maverick of its head with Levi's halberd. "I haven't been here ten minutes, and I'm already tired of this place."

**Stay calm, everyone.** X said softly. **We're almost there. Then, we can end Model W and put this terrible place behind us.**

**That sounds like an excellent plan, X. Just remember to be thorough about it.** Zero muttered. **The last thing we need is to beat Model W only for it to find some way to come back. I've had far too many enemies that don't stay dead when I kill them.**

** That's funny coming from you Zero, given how many times you've up and died on me.**

** Don't make excuses for them, X.**

X and Zero continued their debate quietly as Aile forced her way deeper into Area M.

* * *

After a long trek, some long falls, and even a brief swim or two, Aile found herself upon a dimly lit platform overlooking a massive, shrouded chamber. She knew it was massive because she could hear the sound of her footsteps echoing off the distant walls. She knew without a doubt that something was in this chamber.

Or, to be more accurate, _someone_.

"Well, well. You've survived. Most impressive." The massive figure that was Serpent mimed a slow clap. "I can see now why you were selected as the chosen of Model X. Like the hero before you, you have the potential to become a threat despite your obvious fragility."

"Serpent!" Aile twitched at the sudden appearance, settling into a ready stance. But she didn't attack yet. Something was still off about this…

"However," He continued with a smirk. "You are too late. I already found what I came for. The power to rival that of the legendary heroes!"

Serpent held up his own Biometal, the fragment of Model W that had started it all. It flashed brilliantly in the dim chamber.

And in the darkness, something responded.

A dull roar echoed through the chamber, like the breath of a great and terrible beast, and Aile suddenly felt the nameless dread she'd been feeling ever since she'd entered Area M, only far stronger than before.

"Behold!" Serpent gestured magnificently into the blackness. "The true form of Model W!"

And within the darkness, orange light began to shine, pulsating like a heartbeat. The glow illuminated what Aile had been sure was there in the chamber, but she hadn't been prepared for the actuality of seeing it.

A colossal slab of ruined metal greeted her. Twisted and gouged, yet it shone with unearthly light. Numerous red lines along it's surface flashed and pulsed like a heartbeat. All of the red lines converged at one point, a giant red orb that looked for all the world like an evil, blood-soaked eye. It too, shone and flashed with it's own light.

_Almost like it was_ g_laring at her_.

Aile shuddered as the evil metal's sheer power washed over her. She could literally _feel_ the Biometal's hatred, despite the rousing defenses of her own Biometals. She knew that Model W wasn't even awake yet; it's reaction seemed something akin to it turning over in it's sleep. But for it to harbor such terrible power, even without the awareness to turn that energy against her…

"And now, Project Haven can truly be set in motion!" Serpent proclaimed "With this, the new age shall begin! Pandora!"

There was a flash, and another person appeared next to Serpent. Aile recognized her as the other person who had appeared next to Prometheus in Area D.

"This one has decided to grace us with her presence. _Entertain_ her for me."

"I will…"

Serpent looked back at Aile, who had composed herself despite Model W's presence. "I look forward to our next encounter. I will show you the future that awaits this world!"

And with that, Serpent teleported away, leaving Aile and Pandora alone in the chamber save for the Biometals.

"You have grown…since my brother…" Pandora said softly. "Stronger…braver…" She gave the transporter a thin smile. "My brother… he awaits his rematch…with you and Zero…You have impressed him greatly…"

Pandora called her staff into her hand. "I would see…if you are worthy of his respect…"

With that, Pandora attacked.

* * *

"This is gonna be _epic_."

Prometheus looked out at the mass of warships in the sky. He'd lost count of exactly how many vessels Serpent had constructed out of the public eye, but they were everywhere he looked. With such a force of ships at his disposal, Serpent probably didn't even need to hide his 'Project Haven'. He could have easily awoken Model W years ago with that armada to enforce his will over Innerpeace.

Of course, he hadn't been able to then. He hadn't had all the passwords, and acting in the open would have forced the remaining Biometals underground.

But now, Serpent had thrust open the curtain, revealing to Innerpeace his true face. And with his armada, there was basically nothing Innerpeace could do to stop him. And even without the armada, Serpent's gathered force of Mavericks were even more numerous than the ships. Like a wave, they would descend upon the hapless people of Innerpeace, claiming their lives to revive Model W. With the sky and ground under his control, Serpent would have no difficulty capturing the city.

There was only one thing stopping him from doing just that.

Sitting directly between them and the helpless people was a massive fortress of a warship. More than five times the size of the biggest Slither Inc. airship, it hung in the sky like a massive sword of Damocles, just daring Serpent's armada to advance. He knew from personal experience the ship's power and toughness, and that was before some nameless engineer had upgraded it…had strengthened it…had given it a name.

Outnumbered it may be, but the Guardian's flagship _Hyperion_ stood resolute against the tide of warships before it. And on the ground beneath it, the main force of Guardians stood courageous, preparing to sell their lives dearly to protect Innerpeace.

"Alright then…Let's see where this goes."

Prometheus gave the order. The wall of ships began their advance. The mavericks surged forward.

_It's up to you now, Aile. Let's see if you can pull off the miracle that he promised me._

* * *

Aile rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a ball of electricity. She quickly triggered her dash thrusters, and shot sideways, just short of a shard of ice.

"Tch." Aile spun and fired at the aggravating drone, one of the two that Pandora kept on her helmet, with her X-Buster. It spun through the air, giving Aile time to line up a charged shot on the reploid herself.

But Pandora had expected the attack, and a barrier formed in front of her. It didn't stand up to a charged shot, but it did slow the attack enough for her to move out of the way.

Aile grimaced, then darted away from the recovered drone as it opened fire on her again.

_I can't dodge forever, and she can pin me in place with those drones easily. I need to find a way to deal with the drones before I can take her on._

Pandora, however, wasn't about to let up on her, attacking with her own power while she moved her drones into better positions. Aile shifted to the Fx-Armor and dashed around, evading balls of lightning and deflecting ice shards with her buster cannons when she wasn't returning fire with them.

It wasn't like her other battles thus far. The Pseudoroids had been based on the Biometals they were built on (Although the Model P ones were questionable), and they'd been fairly easy to predict once they settled into their attacks. The only exception had been Prometheus, but though he'd had some alternative attacks, he'd opted instead for a straight-up brawl with weapons only. Not to mention that Zero had been forced to step in.

Pandora was different. What she lacked in outright attack power, she made up for in flexibility. She could hover through the air rather quickly, she could attack with slow, powerful lightning balls or fast, accurate ice shards, and her drones gave her the ability to do all of this simultaneously. She could also generate a decent barrier to withstand weak attacks and slow more powerful ones.

**Basically, it's three on one, and the best we've got to counter it is a big continuous scattergun that hits everything **_**but**_** where we're aiming it.**

Fefnir growled at Zero, but he made no comment. It had, however, given Aile an idea.

_Actually, that's a halfway decent plan. I need to put Pandora on the defensive; I don't need to actually hit her to do that._

Aile dashed back a bit, shifting one of Fefnir's buster cannons into Volleyfire mode while keeping the other between her and the ice-shooting drone.

While keeping her shield in place, Aile aimed the massive gun in Pandora's general direction.

"Let's try this out."

Aile fired.

Pandora's eyes widened as plasma flew towards her, but she was quick. In a heartbeat, she threw up a series of barriers and dodged between them, using the shields to slow down the plasma.

Aile grimaced, her dash thrusters at full power to prevent her from sliding backwards. The incomplete targeting system could lock on to Pandora, her drones, and the barriers she kept creating, but it wasn't smart enough to compensate for the reploid's speed. Aile had to manually aim in front of Pandora, but her ability to use the system wasn't good enough to score a direct hit. The best she could do was bombard her, and hope for a lucky strike.

_Harpuia, can you get a decent scan at this range?_

**Unknown. I can try, though.**

_Please do._

One of the drones began to skirt to her left in an attempt to bypass the wall of plasma she was firing. Rather than deal with it, Aile lowered her dash thruster output, letting the sheer recoil push her out of harm's way.

It was a good thing she was only firing one of the Volleyfire busters. The recoil of both busters at once would probably send her careening all over the cavern.

**Tch, the buster's overheating. **Fefnir grumbled. **Maybe 20 seconds fire time left.**

_Harpia? Anything?_

**No. Her systems are too well guarded for me to obtain anything useful. However, I can tell you that her armor uses both lightning and ice elemental generators to attack. Attacking with an elemental weakness while the correct one is active might be effective.**

_Hmm…_

Aile abruptly shifted to the X-Armor. Since her dash thrusters were still at full capacity, she rocketed forwards, catching Pandora by surprise. But despite that, the reploid moved quickly, and as Aile leapt into the air in front of Pandora, her buster charging up to full, Pandora readied a charged bolt of lightning.

She did not expect Aile's armor to shift to a slightly lighter color of blue.

"Ice Arrow: Glacial Crash!"

Not long ago, Aile had discovered that X's variable weapon system was integrated with his charging ability. He could actually use his energy charge to generate a stronger, more effective version of his copied weapons. And while his Ash System buster core made the process more efficient, he didn't _need_ the buster core to do it.

Aile fired a mass of ice at Pandora, which exploded on impact into a flurry of ice arrows spreading in all directions. Pandora shrieked as the sharp projectiles cut into her armor, flaying her lightning generator and dealing some pretty respectable damage to her chest plating.

Which was unfortunate, as the impact caused her to release her lightning attack reflexively, and her ruined generator did not take that very well.

The explosion rocked the entire area, hurling the two apart and depositing them on opposite sides of the cavern.

Neither of them moved.

* * *

"Ah…"

Eventually, Pandora slowly pushed herself upright. Her drones had flown in to help, and one of them had been caught in the explosion and destroyed. The other had slowed her fall, but had been damaged in the process, and now lay useless next to her. And although Pandora herself was in bad shape, her ice generation system was still intact, and her autorepair systems were beginning to kick in. Most of her systems were still active. As for the rest, well…

"Prometheus is…going to kill me…ugh…" The reploid sighed as she surveyed her ruined armor. It would take a great deal of repairs to fix; autorepair could only do so much, after all, and Prometheus was the one who usually did manual repairs.

"Ow…"

**Ouch…**

Across the room, Aile slowly struggled into a sitting position. X had taken the majority of the damage by himself, and the X-Armor was in even worse shape than Pandora. As for Aile, she was okay, more or less.

**Crap. Aile, your leg.**

Zero directed their attention to Aile's left leg, which was bleeding profusely. She'd landed roughly on a twisted metal scrap, driving the fragment right between her knee and thigh armor. Her brief movement caused it to fall out, but the wound left behind was still a danger.

"Right…Sub-Tank…" Aile reached around her belt, hesitating briefly over the two buttons on the device before finally pushing both of them.

Aile immediately felt a strange warmth spread from her waist all over her body, finally concentrating at her injured leg. Before her eyes, the wound closed and healed in seconds, leaving nothing but pristine flesh. There wasn't even a scar.

At the same instant, white light coursed through the X-Armor, repairing broken metal and regenerating shields in the blink of an eye.

In a few seconds, if was as if Aile had never been touched at all.

**Impressive. When Lateral pulls through, she pulls through most capably.**

Aile found herself agreeing with Phantom as she looked over her undamaged armor.

"Interesting…"

Aile blinked as Pandora eyed her with a curious look, head slightly tilted to one side.

"A sub-tank that regenerates…damaged biological material? And efficiently enough…to repair armor as well? Perhaps a resonance field…or an artificial cell culture…fascinating…"

Pandora finally saw Aile giving her a blank stare, and glanced away, her face reddening slightly. "Ah, sorry…I was always interested…in inventing things…"

For a moment, Aile just looked at her, stunned by the reploid's behavior.

"…Remind me to introduce you to Lateral sometime. She's the one who made it, after all."

"I see…" Pandora gave a faint smile. "I would like that…I think…maybe some other time…"

Anything else that might have been said was interrupted by a clanging sound echoing through the chamber.

Aile clambered upright as Model W suddenly began moving slowly upwards. Unnoticed during their battle, massive cables had snaked their way down the cavern, and were now hoisting the evil biometal towards the surface.

There was a sudden sound of a teleportation, and Aile whirled around.

"Interesting. I would have thought Pandora would have been able to delay you a bit longer."

Serpent glanced aside at the reploid, who had staggered upright, supporting herself on her staff.

"My apologies…she has improved…considerably…"

"Hmph. You did well enough, I suppose." Serpent turned back towards Aile. "Perhaps I should remind you of the last time we met."

The tall reploid held up the small fragment of Model W, just like he had in Area D. But nothing was happening…

**Aile, Model W!**

The evil Biometal had responded to the call of it's fragment. A horrible sound echoed through the chamber, like a deep, cavernous roar. Energy swirled through it's surface without restraint.

Then, it released it.

A terrible wave of power crashed through the area, hitting everything. Aile shrieked as power washed over her, X valiantly fighting it with his own.

But this wasn't Area D. She wasn't absolutely exhausted after being forced to fight Giro, and X was no longer a mere echo of his former self.

The wave passed, and Aile was still standing, albeit barely.

"Hah! You see now? This is the power of Model W!" Serpent laughed for a moment, caught up in the Biometal's overwhelming power. "Even the legendary X cannot stand against it!"

He gestured again, and the Biometal, although it was almost out of sight, surged with power again.

**Damn. Not another one…**

** Aile! **Leviathan shouted. **Let me take over! I can stop it!**

"O-okay."

Leviathan took the helm, the Lx-Armor engaging in a flash of azure light. Only the light-blue armor shimmered and became a reddish-gold.

**"Cmon, work…"**

The wave of power issued forth again, scoring deep rends in the metal platform.

But it splashed against the aura of red-orange light that suddenly came into being around Aile's body, to no effect.

"W-what?" Pandora gaped at Aile, from her position on the floor where the wave had tossed her. Aile had weathered the attack completely unscathed. Serpent also seemed rather surprised at Aile's blatant dismissal of Model W's attack.

**"Hah!" **Leviathan laughed. **"As if I'd let Fefnir make something so ridiculously overpowered as the Volleyfire without an ace of my own to play!" **She paused. **"Although, I'll admit I'm surprised that it works at all, given all the adjustments I had to make."**

Serpent glared at her, then glanced upwards. Model W had risen up beyond their sight at that point, and would no longer be able to attack her. His attempt to cast her to the ground with his power had been foiled.

He looked back at Aile to see Leviathan, through Aile's body, giving him the finger.

**"Suck on that, you bastard! Even without my true power, I can still stand off your precious Model W. And without it, you don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of breaking through my Heat Shield!"**

Serpent just stared at Leviathan's audacity, while Pandora raised an eyebrow. "Heat…shield? How does a shield…that repels heat…protect you?"

Leviathan/Aile grinned. **"Well, 'heat shield' is just a shorthand name I call it. Its full title is 'Thermal Shock Generating Armor'. It absorbs excess energy from the environment and from my own systems and uses a massive change in thermal pressure to simulate the bow shock of a star."**

Pandora's eyes widened at that. Not without reason.

When a water-based ship moves through the water, it's bow exerts pressure on the water in front of it. This causes a wave to form around it's front, which is called the bow wave. In a similar manner, the radiation given off by a star exerts a similar pressure on the cosmic radiation that flows through the universe. The point where the star's radiation is strong enough to push aside the cosmic radiation is called the Bow Shock, due to it's resemblance to the bow wave that forms in front of a ship.

Technically speaking, the bow shock is caused by the point where the cosmic radiation and the star's radiation balance out, the heliopause, where the temperature of ambient particles is supposed to be dramatically different. So technically, Leviathan was simulating the effect a heliopause would have on a surrounding medium, such as attacking energy.

But in layman's terms, Leviathan had created a wall of thermal energy so dramatically different in temperature that the mere change in pressure was capable of deflecting an attack.

"Hmph. Impressive it may be, but Model W is hardly at it's full strength right now." Serpent turned away, an annoyed look on his face. "As it is, Model W is now beyond your reach. And also…" Serpent gave her a smug grin. "So are your friends."

Serpent suddenly began laughing, and he was still laughing even as he teleported away.

Pandora had pushed herself upright at that point. She gave Aile a sad look, and then she teleported away herself. Leaving Aile alone in the empty chamber.

**Well, that was sudden.**

* * *

It didn't take long to figure out exactly what Serpent meant with his last comment. The doorway Aile had used to enter the chamber had been ruined by Model W's attack. The other direction had yielded a transerver, and it was even less useful.

**Serpent, you bastard. **Zero snarled. **He removed the power units. A transerver with no power can teleport us nowhere. We're stuck here.**

"Can we fix it?" Aile turned to Harpuia.

**I'm afraid not. It only has enough residual power to show us an image of Area D, most likely left there for us by Serpent. And it does not look good.**

Harpuia displayed the image, and Aile's worst fears were confirmed.

A tide of mavericks was converging on the small force of Guardians, while the massive _Hyperion_ was standing firm against an enormous number of warships.

It was the sort of battle that would be hopeless unless they had Aile up there. And they didn't.

"Can't we do _anything_?"

The Biometals did not respond. Not at first.

**Well…** Zero spoke up hesitantly. **I might have a way out. It might even lead to a way to beat Model W for good this time. But…well, none of us are going to like it.**

"Do we have any other options?"

The other Biometals shook their heads.

"Then I guess we'll just have to deal with it, Zero."

**Figures…alright then. Harpy, give this hunk of junk some juice.**

**Zero, I can't possibly give a transerver sufficient power to establish a connection to another transerver.**

** No need. We just need enough for a one-way shift. The only transerver in range isn't capable of an outgoing signal anyways.**

Harpuia grumbled, but nonetheless fed power to the machine as Zero input a long string of coordinates. X floated over to him.

**Zero, just where are we going?**

** Somewhere that's necessary, X. That attack Model W threw at us? I last encountered it fighting Weil atop the Ragnarok. And I know that Model W inherited some of Weil's evil, but who's to say it hasn't inherited his other abilities too? Like that ridiculous regeneration ability he has?  
**

X was silent.

**We need a means to beat Model W permanently. And it just so happens that I left behind something capable of doing the job fairly close to here. If it means putting Aile through hell and back to get it, I'll do it, because we don't have any other options. And if I know Aile, **Zero gazed meaningfully at Aile, who nodded at him. **She'll do it, if only because she wants this over as badly as we do.**

Zero glanced at Harpuia, who gave a curt nod. **Alright Aile. Step onto the transerver. Let's see what waits for us on the other side.**

Aile did so. The machine whirred and shook, and Aile vanished in a flash of light.

And the chamber once again fell silent.

* * *

AN: I had the hardest time deciding what to give Leviathan that would balance out what I'd already given the others, until I recalled mentioning earlier that Levi's defenses were better than everyone else except Fefnir. Since she helped Fefnir develop the Volleyfire System, she would most likely be in the position to design an effective counter.

The Thermal Shock Generating Armor, or 'Heat Shield', absorbs excess energy from both the environment and from Levi and X to generate a wall of thermal pressure strong enough to deflect projectiles. In fact, it can also absorb energy from energy-based attacks to power itself, making the shield nearly invulnerable to energy based attacks. In other words, the perfect counter to something like the Volleyfire.

Unfortunately, as one might expect, it takes ridiculous amounts of energy to power, and it's not quite as effective against physical weapons or magnetically sheathed plasma, such as a beam saber.

That should about cover this chapter. The ending seems a bit rushed to me, since I wrote it in one massive burst of inspiration, but maybe that's just me. I do tend to be overly-critical of my own work.

As for the next chapter, expect massive bouts of epic.


	24. The Red Devil

If you checked my profile, you probably noticed I'm still here. Unfortunately, this chapter is quite a bit shorter than my usual chapters, but I am of the opinion that this might be part of my problem. I try to stuff too much into one chapter, and I get bogged down as a result. So I am going to see if I can divide chapters into sections, and see if I can get updates out faster.

Besides, I figure I've made you guys wait long enough.

Anyways, here's the first part of the chapter you all were anticipating (I hope).

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Twenty Four

The Red Devil

* * *

"_Pandora!_ What the hell happened to you?!"

Prometheus caught his sister as she stumbled into the area Prometheus had claimed as his command area.

"S-sorry Prometheus…She's gotten…stronger…"

"Tch." Prometheus grimaced as he guided Pandora over to some rubble and sat her down. "She must have picked up her game big time to have beaten you up this badly. Don't move."

Pandora held still as her brother peeled away her ruined armor, tossing it en-masse to one side.

"Lightning generator blew. No wonder you're such a mess. Gch!" He cursed creatively as the damaged generator shocked him. It quickly joined the rest of the armor in the pile. "You're lucky I've got some spare plating to fix this with. Can't do much about the generator though. You'll just have to make do without it. The drones, I can probably fix, I think…"

Pandora gazed around as Prometheus continued to wrestle with her gear, muttering profanities under his breath. Far in the distance, she could hear weapons firing. And far overhead, she could see explosions as Serpent's armada squared off against the formidable Hyperion.

"Do you think…she'll make it back in time?"

Prometheus paused. "I dunno. But whatever happens next, she'll probably be aching to beat up _somebody_ for it. You and I had better be ready."

"Right…"

* * *

It didn't feel right.

That was Aile's first impression as she stepped off the trans-server pad. Area M had felt unnatural in its alien textured walls and labyrinthine tunnels. The presence of Model W had helped heighten the unnerving feel of the place, but that had made Area M feel…evil.

Area N, as Zero liked to call it, simply felt dead. No, she corrected herself, not dead per se, but more like…abnormally empty. There was a formless presence about the place. It almost felt like a hidden booby trap, waiting for her to walk into its path so it could be sprung.

Area N felt less like a location, and more like the physical manifestation of the calm before the storm.

She absently swiped at the mechaniloid heads that appeared in her path, spewing fire. They weren't relevant to her destination, and Leviathan had raised her Heat Shield, absorbing that fire energy for its own use.

The awakened Biometal had helpfully clarified the use of her Heat Shield as they maneuvered through the eerie area. Simply put, it absorbed heat energy from the surroundings to power an artificial heliopause, which deflected attacks with sheer thermal pressure. It was powerful, but it also drained heat from the surroundings. It was most useful against heat-based attacks, since they supplied their own heat for absorption. But in a confined space, the Heat Shield could result in lowering the ambient temperature dramatically to power itself. This served as an advantage to Leviathan, who was designed for low-temperature environments. However, Aile was only human, and that low temperature would be extremely hazardous to her health. Even worse, Levi's shield wasn't fully operational, due to her missing the original device, and was rather inefficient as a result.

Or, in layman's terms, Levi's shield sucked away all the surrounding heat to keep her shield running, and it could hurt Aile if it got cold enough.

**There's the path. This way, Aile.**

With Zero guiding her, Aile cautiously pushed forward.

* * *

**No. Hell, no.**

**Ugh…X, we've talked about this.**

** Are you kidding me, Zero?/! You want her to go through **_**that**_**?/!**

Aile tuned out the duo, preferring instead to focus on the point of the twos' argument.

Early in 20XX, Dr. Albert Wily, Zero's father, had created the infamous 'spikes', as a deterrent security mechanism. Believing in the theory that a deterrent only worked if people were actually 'deterred' by the mechanism, Wily had created one of the most fearsome things in history.

The 'spike' was actually more like a crystalline organism shaped like a spike. It had three defining features: It grew insanely fast, it fed on metals, and it absorbed it's food through physical contact.

If anything that it fed upon touched the spike, the spike instantly grew _through_ the object in question in order to absorb all of the edible material it could, utterly destroying the object in question. Once it was done, it conserved energy by returning to its original shape, leaving no evidence behind.

Wily had originally designed the spike to protect people from rogue machines, by surrounding the machines' work areas with the spikes. However, after Wily declared war upon mankind, he modified the spikes to recognize the iron in human blood as a viable food source.

From that point on, contact with a spike was considered to be instantly fatal to any organism, human or machine, simply because it _was_.

And unfortunately for Aile, hundreds, if not thousands of them lined the room in front of her, stretching on as far as the eye could see.

**Great. I hate spikes.** Fefnir grumbled. **And these are the really good ones, too. You know, the ones that explode you if you fly over them with anything other than a compression system.**

"They can do that?"

**Not precisely. **Harpuia clarified. **This particular breed of spike releases a highly volatile gas as part of its natural cycle. It was designed for enclosed areas, much like this one, to prevent an intruder from simply flying over the obstruction. **Harpia cursed mildly. **I'm afraid I will be of limited use here. My plasma thrusters are low yield enough that you can make quick air dashes safely, but flying over the entire field is out of the question.**

** Not a problem!** Zero exclaimed, drowning out X. **For with a push of a button…**

Zero fiddled with the nearby console a bit, and gigantic square blocks suddenly appeared all over the field.

And then vanished. Only to reappear again.

**May I present the bane of X and good Maverick Hunters everywhere. The Disappearing Block and Spike Pit! Keeps out enemies, friends, door-to-door salesmen, and that annoying neighbor of yours! Guaranteed to make any mundane activity into an exciting life-or-death scenario! Only $4,999.99 USD, some restrictions may apply. The Block and Spike Pit may result in multiple casualties. The Block and Spike Pit is not for anyone. See a doctor if you are thinking of installing one, because there is obviously something wrong with you. **

Everybody stared at Zero.

**What?**

As he lacked the ability to facepalm, X simply groaned for the umpteenth time that day.

* * *

Thankfully, despite X's misgivings, crossing the spike pit was easier than it looked, since Zero had memorized the pattern that the blocks used. All it took was Zero taking over for a bit, and some truly death-defying leaps, but they finally made it to the other side of the pit.

"Is this…why X…hates these things…so much?" Aile panted as Zero gave her back control of her body.

**Pretty much. Dealing with spike pits is much like trying to disarm a bomb. One wrong move, and extremely fatal things happen. Doing it so many times tends to wear on a person after a while. Even reploids aren't immune to excessive stress.**

"Right…" Aile pulled herself together. In front of them was a massive doorway. It looked like any other doorway, but Aile could feel as though something on the other side was waiting for her. Which was understandable; Aile was certain that something _was_ waiting for her.

**From here on Aile, I can't help. You can wield my armor and sword, but this is a challenge you must overcome with your own wits and skill. You'll understand what I mean soon enough.**

** I assume we cannot assist either? **Harpuia mused.

**I'd prefer if you didn't. Not to mention that this challenge will be very fast, and I doubt you'd have the time to advise her anyway. **

** Zero…** X growled. **What, exactly, is on the other side of this door?**

** That's for her to deal with X. But you should know exactly what I'm doing shortly.**

"…"

Aile didn't move for a bit. Truth be told, she was a bit frightened. Zero had yet to lead her astray, but his manner was not doing much for her nerves.

"Zero, this is the only way out of here, right? The only way to get back to Prairie and the others is through this door?"

**Unfortunately, yes.**

Aile sighed. "Then it doesn't really matter what stands in my way, does it? Somehow, I'll make it through. I have to."

With a hand that everyone could see trembling faintly, she opened the door and stepped through.

* * *

"_Fire in Section 3, Port side! Dispatch response team immediately!_"

"Understood. Response team Echo has been notified, and is en-route. Do what you can until they get there."

"Incoming missiles, 3 o-clock high! Starboard Gatling turrets, intercept immediately!"

"Plasma cannon 67, there are no high-priority targets in your immediate vicinity. Engage ground targets designated high priority by the ground forces."

"_Command, Aft section 8! Shield generator A8 just overloaded! Bring auxiliary generators A81 and A82 online while we make repairs!_"

If Prairie could describe the scene at hand, it would be absolute chaos barely restrained by iron-willed order. She and the three operators issued commands, monitored sensors, notified response teams, designated targets, and maneuvered the ship. It was a tall order, one that had to be reiterated and repeated several dozen times every minute.

But they did it anyways, and the Hyperion was still alive because of it. And because the Hyperion was still alive, Colbor and the ground forces were still alive as well.

"Enemy bomber approaching ground forces left flank. Forward particle lasers 77 through 82, engage at first opportunity."

_"Command, Forward section 2! Enemy missile saturation is too thick to divert forward lasers!_"

"Understood…Commander Colbor, enemy bomber approaching your left flank, and we can't engage at the moment. Be prepared to engage if we can't stop it."

_"Roger that. I have two good long-range fragmentation warheads I can use for small warships. Plot the bomber's course for Bar's section, and leave it to us._"

Orders circulated and were carried out, formations shifted, and enemy ships and forces were dashed across the ground. But the maverick numbers were considerable, and more of them moved in to fill the gaps.

But they would not give up. Not with all Innerpeace behind them.

Outnumbered, outgunned, and _undaunted_, the Guardians held their ground.

* * *

The door hissed shut behind Aile, and the room was absolutely silent.

Aile almost flinched with every slow step, as the clang of boot striking metal echoed in the near infinite expanse.

Far off in the distance was an endless void, a great hole in space. The great black orb hung there, far, far away. It looked like nothing she'd ever seen before, but somehow, it felt familiar.

**Is that…Cyberspace?**

**That's impossible. Cyberspace doesn't exist in the real world.**

** Except that it does.** Zero intoned softly. **The one who rests here makes it real. That's his explicit capability. You all should know that.**

All eyes diverted towards the one thing that existed in the room, and every single Biometal save Zero inhaled sharply. Even Aile paused at the sight. Somewhere, in her heart, she now knew what stood against her.

There stood a familiar armored figure that many of them had all once fought against. Deep, crimson armor flashed as he shifted slightly, acknowledging her presence.

"So, you've finally arrived…Zero."

He turned.

Aile quavered beneath that bloody gaze as he raked her with his glare.

His eyebrow rose in amusement. "Oh? Not Zero. His little pet _human_. He can't even bother to come face me himself, but sends a little girl to do his fighting for him? How disappointing." He shook his head sadly. "How the mighty Zero has fallen."

Zero made an unhappy noise, almost a growl, but didn't respond.

Aile finally looked him in the eye, and stepped forward. "Zero may have guided me here, but I'm not here for him."

"Oh?" A faint smile creased the warrior's face. "Elaborate."

"I'm here because Weil's legacy survived his death. Zero said the power necessary to destroy it permanently could be found here. I'm here to put an end to this."

"Tch. Of course some part of the old bastard survived. You can blame Zero's weakness for that."

"Weakness..?" Aile shook her head. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. However it survived isn't relevant. I still need the strength to defeat it."

"Interesting…You've got guts, girl. I'll give you that. Alright, I accept your challenge." He settled into a battle pose, although he didn't draw a weapon. "If you want to harness the power of Destruction for yourself, you must first defeat its current wielder: Me!"

Aile nodded. "Alright." Nervously, she settled into a battle stance of her own; hand resting on an undrawn Zx-saber, and Harpuia ready to shift armors if she needed to evade in a hurry.

He merely raised an eyebrow at her stance. "Huh. Looks like Zero taught you more than just the ability to bite off more than you can chew. Seriously girl, do you have any clue what you're up against?"

Aile nodded. "You're the evil version of Zero…you're Omega."

"Hah!" He uttered a sharp bark of laughter. "Omega?! It is a name, and nothing more. It may describe who I am, but it fails to convey just _what_ I am."

He drew his sword, a violet arrowhead shaped blade of pure energy sizzling to life as he did.

And the air itself suddenly cracked, like fragile glass.

"Do you have any idea who you're challenging, little human? I am the nightmare of all who exist! The Destroyer; He whose coming foretells the end of all things!"

Raw power surged through the chamber, and the surrounding space seemed to break down as he roared his battle cry.

"_**I AM THE MESSIAH!**_"

And with that cry, with reality itself shattering around him, Omega, the evil God of Destruction, launched himself at his opponent.

* * *

When Aile had fought Prometheus, he'd been able to overwhelm her slower reflexes with sheer speed, but Aile had worked long and hard to bring her reaction time up to scratch.

And against Omega, it almost wasn't enough.

'_He's freaking _fast_'_ Aile thought as she narrowly avoided a lightning-quick slash, bringing the Zx-Saber up to block Omega's next swipe as he charged at her.

Only for his next attack to include a solid kick to the gut that sent her sprawling to the ground.

'_And he's really strong too. I can't block him outright._'

She darted sideways to evade his next attack and retaliated with a swing of her own, only for the red reploid to use his own dash thrusters to carry him out of range. With a yell, he careened towards her, and Aile set herself solidly and met his violet blade with her own.

Or tried to, at any rate. Omega had telegraphed an overhead swing, but easily converted it into a stab without any warning. Aile barely managed to set her own blade to push his stab to the side, only to leave herself wide open for his fist, which sent her flying again.

And the near-infinite expanse of their battlefield meant that she flew _really_ far before she stopped.

**Severe damage to the chest plate.** Harpuia noted calmly as Aile flipped upright. **Don't take another hit like that.**

"Duly noted." Aile had time for a brief groan before dodging a wave of green energy; most likely a _kougenjin_ attack, albeit far larger.

"_Kougenjin!_" Aile shouted as she responded in kind. Her attack hit Omega's next wave, and the two exploded in midair. Aile braced for the oncoming attack, and met Omega's stab as he rushed her through the smoke. But his impossible strength easily overcame her guard, and she spun away to avoid it.

Only to quickly take aim with her Zx-Buster, fully charged.

Omega merely grinned at her in response.

With a wild yell, he slashed the massive energy bolt in two with his sword and charged her to follow up the attack.

But Aile had shifted to the Hx-Armor the instant the bolt had fired, and her thrusters burned furiously to move her out of harm's way. Shifting to the Fx-Armor in midair, she immediately activated Volleyfire mode, took aim, and fired everything she had.

And in that instant, everyone present realized that even if Fefnir had perfected the Volleyfire for use against Zero, it wouldn't have done him any good.

Omega didn't dodge. He didn't even _move_. His sword wasn't even visible as it impossibly slashed apart air and plasma around him, creating a torrential vortex of exploding energy and smoke that left the red demon completely unscathed.

It was ridiculous. No one could physically move fast enough to counter a barrage of that magnitude.

But then again, given the current state of reality around them, did the laws of physics really have any say in the matter?

"Heh. Not bad, girl. Not bad at al-doh!"

Apparently, Aile hadn't expected her attack to work anyways. So instead of being surprised at his survival, she'd charged the mass of smoke and socked Omega in the face with a knuckle-buster the instant she heard his voice.

"Hahaha! Okay, I'll give you that one. That was good."

Omega's laugh echoed endlessly as he reappeared out of the smoke, not even visibly bothered by her attack.

"Gotta give ol Fefnir credit though; when he does firepower, he doesn't do things halfway."

Fefnir didn't reply to that, although Aile did pick up a contented feeling from the fiery Biometal. Praise from the God of Destruction was probably high praise indeed.

"You're not bad, kid. Guess Zero and the rest taught you well. Looks like I'll have to step up my game a bit."

"Is this the part where you say 'I am not left handed'?" Aile retorted dryly.

Omega snorted at that, before blinking and looking down. His sword was, indeed, in his left hand.

He promptly burst out laughing.

"Gyahaha! Zero, where did you find this girl? She is a _gem_! She suits you and X perfectly!"

Omega settled into a ready stance, but his grin had not left his face.

"Your name was Aile, right? Since we've concluded the preliminaries, what do you say we head to the main event? Show me everything Zero and the rest taught you!"

Omega hurled himself at her with a wild cry.

And Aile couldn't keep a grin off her face as she responded in kind.

* * *

AN: _Oh, it be on_.

Okay, let's see if I can't get the next chapter out in less than two months or so, hm?


	25. Cannonball

Edit: Someone pointed out to me that I made a couple of errors, so I went and corrected them.

Good day everyone. I had planned on releasing this chapter a while ago, but circumstances intervened. If you read my profile, you knew about my computer troubles, but those have largely been resolved now. Most of the delay this time was due to my focusing on finishing classes. As of right now, I have about one week left of classes, and then I graduate with my Bachelor's Degree. So apart from job searching, I shouldn't have to worry about classes getting in the way anymore.

Anyways a couple of things I want to note. First of all, apparently, someone thought my story was good enough to warrant its own TVTropes page. If you visit the site, please do me a favor and populate the page. It goes against my sensibilities to apply tropes for my own story, although I might later on if I have time.

And second, I didn't even realize it until I tried searching for it, but apparently one of my favorite stories has been deleted from the site. That story was Biometal: Ballad of the Floating Belt Buckles. It was a parody of Zx, and it was the story that largely inspired me to write this one, as well as the one that inspired me to add some humor to the storyline. Kudos to you, BotFBB. You will be missed.

And that having been said, I still think I have a shot at being the first to finish a Zx novelization story, despite my own delays. Let's get on with the story, shall we?

-Ainrhyr

Disclaimer: See previous page.

* * *

_**Rise of the Chosen**_

Chapter Twenty Five

Cannonball

* * *

Interestingly enough, in medieval times, clashing of blades was rather rare. Days of caring for a well-used blade could easily be undone with just a few clashes with an equally powerful weapon. Use of the shield was essential to deflect an opponent's weapon, giving you the opportunity to drive through their armor with a powerful thrust. For eastern swordsmen, saving your blade was even more important, as eastern blades like the katana emphasized powerful slashes from a rest position. Extremely skilled swordmasters could begin and end a confrontation with a single slash, all without bringing undue harm to their trusty blade.

Of course, with the advent of energy blades, this practice was rather useless. In fact, beam weapons actually encourage the movie-like clashing of blades, since the magnetic sheath of a plasma saber will repel other swords. Landing a good hit on an opponent's sword is just as important as landing a hit on the actual opponent.

* * *

"HIYAAA!"

"GRRAAAHH!"

Two plasma blades, one green the other violet, slammed into each other with titanic force.

Aile held her own for a brief moment before giving ground, backing away from the other sword. She spun to deliver her own strike, but that too was halted by Omega's strong guard.

"Not quite Aile, but you're getting there."

Omega twisted abruptly, turning his sword diagonally against hers, then ripping it upwards, forcing her own blade up as well. Their swords were now held against one another, but over their heads.

But Omega had tried this maneuver already, albeit with his fist, and when he suddenly rammed his _head_ forward to headbutt her in the chest, she had already brought her leg up.

It crushed her leg armor and probably shattered her kneecap, and she stifled a shriek of pain as it registered. But not even Omega could shrug off an armored knee to the _face_. Especially not since he was the one who'd rammed into it at full strength.

"GAHH!" Omega reeled back clutching his face, giving Aile time to grab her Sub-Tank and regenerate her damaged leg. But as she prepared a slash, Omega had already recovered.

Aile had expected him to dodge, but she had not expected him to jump _straight up_. He shot up like a javelin, then began rotating in midair like a buzz-saw. "_Kūenzan__!_"

Aile saw the attack coming, steadied her blade, and leapt skyward with a howl of her own. "_Tenretsujin!_"

Aile's perfected uppercut slash slammed against Omega's spinning blade. The impact shook the entire battleground, and Omega was blasted back by the impact, sprawling on the ground as he landed.

As he flipped upright, Aile whirled around and launched another attack. "_Shippuuga!_"

The Zx-Saber obediently elongated to thrice its length, and the titanic blade sliced through the air towards Omega with a hiss of plasma.

But the red reploid was no longer prone, and was instead reared back, his sword arcing downwards in a titanic overhead slash. "_Juuhazan!_"

The attacks collided, the sheer force of it cracking the metal ground upon which they stood.

There was no clear winner. Omega had been forced back by Aile's attack, but his own had stopped her blade short of him.

Omega glanced in Aile's direction, as the girl was not seeking to re-engage him. Rather, she'd pulled further away, and her armor had changed into a blue one with a massive arm cannon; one he instantly recognized.

"X, huh? Going for ranged combat Aile?" Omega smirked as he drew a massive buster pistol, similar in design to Zero's old Buster Shot, only bigger. "I'm game. Let's go."

They both immediately began dashing, massive jets of plasma issuing forth from their respective firearms as they did so, and explosions dotted the landscape.

* * *

"_Structural breach on the port side, E deck! Shield generators in that section are non-responsive! Get it turned away before they hit the reactors!_"

"Understood. Marguerite, bring us to heading 244. Port after section, we are turning to starboard to minimize enemy contact with breach on Deck EL. Prioritize targets that try to follow."

"_Bridge, port after weapons sections 14 through 17 Roger. Engaging pursuing enemy targets._"

"_Bridge, Response Team Delta. We're in port after section 14. We are moving to the shield generators on Deck EL to assess damages._"

Prairie gripped her chair's armrests with crushing force as she contemplated their situation.

They'd managed to defeat nearly a full quarter of the enemy's aerial strength with just one ship, albeit an extremely powerful one. And while Slither Inc.'s ground forces were less damaged, they hadn't been able to advance either, thanks to Colbor's people. For slightly less than an hour, they'd held the line.

And it was already costing them too much.

The duo of missiles that had broken apart port Deck EL were just the latest hits the big warship had taken. Unfortunately, however good Lateral's additions were to the ship's survivability, they didn't alter the fact that the _Hyperion_ was hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, and cracks were beginning to form in the defenses.

So far, nearly 33 percent of the control runs were destroyed, severely limiting their mobility. A plasma beam had slipped through a local shield failure and annihilated forward starboard section 3, along with all 22 of its particle beam cannons. Over half of the primary shield generators had gone silent, and the auxiliaries were heavily taxed by the loads being imposed on them. At least two auxiliary generators had already failed, not counting the ones on Deck EL.

And she had 213 casualties, of which at least 60 were fatal. And she could not afford those losses. She only had 2,000 Guardians on board, and they were already stretched too thin.

It had become bad enough that she hadn't bothered stopping Nuppie from deploying her Cyber Elves to help out in any way possible, up to and including using their powers, regardless of the cost. Right now, they were roaming the damaged sections of the ship looking for any wounded, but that probably wouldn't keep for long. Not at the rate they were soaking up damage.

"Prairie, check out that formation at 5 o clock level."

Gardenia's voice nudged Prairie out of her deliberations, and Prairie raised an eye at the odd gaggle of ships at the noted location.

Three ships were almost wedged together in a triangular shape, with one ship directly behind them. They were closing fairly quick towards their starboard flank.

"Ma'am, sensors paint that last ship as a cruiser: one of the old Lambda class ships." Marguerite reported. "They have high structural integrity built into the bow, so they can mount several kinds of extremely heavy weapons there. The Lambda class was never built for endurance though. They might be trying to get it close enough for a shot at the damaged forward section."

"Hmm…" Prairie noted the formation's course, and had to agree with Marguerite's assessment. From what Prairie remembered about the Lambdas, they could mount extremely heavy railed weapons as well as high-yield plasma turrets. Either of which would rip the _Hyperion_ apart if they targeted any unshielded section, and they were flying towards the largest damaged point on the ship.

But they were also rigidly in formation…and the ship was still swinging the starboard flank towards them.

"Bridge to Engineering Bay 4. Hey Lateral, I have some ships closing on the starboard side. They're just about to line up on you." Her smile was fearsome to behold. "You want them?"

* * *

"_Ja!_" Lateral grinned at the targets in question. "Yea, I got them Prairie! Leave it to Lateral!"

"_Got it Lat. I'll tell the other guns to ignore that group. They're all yours._"

"Sweet!" Lateral spun around. "Everyone, get to your stations! It's time to test fire Lateral's Phalanx!"

Lateral Roamer's hand-picked team sped to their positions around the massive cylindrical weapon that Lateral had installed just above the plasma storage tanks. She and Prairie had already set aside a portion of the tanks' contents for her use just for this occasion.

"Nubtan, get inside and fire up the cyberwave generator. Make sure the frequency stays stable, okay? Nothing else matters if we lose control of that plasma wave."

"Understood." The little cyber elf disappeared into the heart of the device.

"Everyone else, you know what to do. Get moving; we've got 74 seconds before that formation hits our targeting window."

* * *

Aile bit off a curse as the ground under her exploded, causing her to stumble. She fired off a full charged shot at her opponent, forcing Omega to veer out of the way and giving her time to recover her balance.

Under normal circumstances, they all knew that X could take Zero any day of the week, and since Omega was basically Zero, she should have a critical advantage with the X-Armor. Unfortunately, X still didn't have his full power back, whereas Omega was at the pinnacle of his power.

Not to mention he had scary aim with a buster pistol.

"Wah!" She jerked to the side, just avoiding another plasma bolt. "Tch."

Her retaliatory shot was a bit wide, and Omega nonchalantly sidestepped it. But he stopped shooting while he did so, giving Aile a brief moment of respite.

Her one saving grace was that Omega's buster was less powerful than his saber, but that was basically it. Some of the damage Omega's earlier attacks had dealt to the Hx-Armor had bled over onto the X-Armor, hindering its defensive abilities. Even worse, despite her buster being decidedly more powerful than his, Omega's aim was far better than hers, and she grimaced as she realized why.

Whenever she hadn't been working to master the use of the various movement systems for her armors, she had devoted herself to mastery of the Zx-Saber. It showed, particularly in her battle with Omega, where she had managed to hold the reploid at bay despite his superior strength. Unfortunately, she hadn't been working at improving her aim, and while she was fairly good at targeting enemies with patterns she could read, that didn't apply towards skilled foes like Omega.

In short, after her battle with Prometheus, she had relentlessly practiced using the Zx-Armor, at the expense of the others. And while she wasn't exactly _bad_ at using them, she wasn't good enough to match up to someone with extreme skill…such as Omega.

To be fair, her other ranged weapon system had an outrageously simple targeting system. Fefnir's Volleyfire was effectively a spray-and-pray weapon at the moment. And he had assured her that once he got his targeting systems back up and running, she basically wouldn't even have to aim; the Volleyfire would do it for her. Which left her wondering why she was using the X-Armor in the first place.

'_Probably because we already saw how effective it was against him._' She thought to herself. _'Plus, it can't do that nifty weapon-change that X can. And its standard charge shot is less than half as effective as X's._'

Wait, now there was an idea. Since she couldn't bring enough experience to bear on Omega, she'd have to play smart. And Omega had probably fought X before; he'd know the ins and outs of X's Buster. How about using a weapon he hadn't encountered before?

Aile shot a half-charged bolt at one of Omega's fully-charged ones, causing both to detonate spectacularly, and mentally ran through what she had.

'_The Wraith Missiles are obviously out, since I still can't use them. Lurrere's Ice Arrows are too slow, but the burst-on-impact charge shot might be useful to catch him off guard. Probably only good once though. The Volt Crescent flies forward until it hit a wall, then split in two and spread up and down. Since there are no walls here, that makes it somewhat useless. That leaves Flammole, Leganchor, and Tech Kraken. We deleted Leganchor's Ice Raider, since it's basically the same as the Ice Arrow, and X hasn't finished integrating Tech's data yet. That leaves the Long Flamethrower, but I need to be a bit closer to use it. Come to think of it, I wonder if X has Pandora's data. Maybe I could use her lightning and ice attacks. They seemed pretty effective._'

Omega pulled his sword in his off-hand and launched a _Kougenjin_ at her while she was distracted. Rather than counter it, she stored her charged shot and dove to the side, rapid-firing plasma bullets all the way. Omega merely slashed the offending projectiles with his blade, so she waited until he was in the middle of a swing before she shot her full-charge attack.

Rather than dodge or counter, Omega charged it head-on, piercing the attack with a powerful stab from his saber. The plasma blast, to Aile's shock, simply ripped in half from the force of the attack, and Omega launched himself in her direction, his buster shot blazing away.

'_I need to put Omega on the defensive. That means re-engaging him in melee, like it or not. I need to convince him to close to saber range. Hmm…how about…?_'

Aile suddenly shifted to the Lx-Armor, its bluish hue immediately changing to orange/red.

"Here goes!"

Omega's buster shots were easily absorbed by the Heat Shield. Undeterred, Omega simply swung his saber. "_Kougenjin!_"

Aile twitched, but held firm, trusting in Leviathan's masterpiece to protect her as the blade crashed against her defenses. And her faith was rewarded; the powerful wave attack was unable to overcome the artificial heliopause, and was turned aside.

Omega blinked, then stared at her with his eyes altering colors. Was he…_scanning_ her shield?

He must have been, because he gave a low whistle. "Now that is an impressive barrier kid. Levi's work?" He grinned at Aile's short nod. "Yea, about time she figured out how to use her own systems."

He raised an eyebrow at Aile's expression. "What? She mainly uses ice powers, right? Well Aile, there's no such thing as 'cold' in a thermal system: there's only a lack of heat. Her ice generation system uses the same thermal manipulation system as a fire-type like Fefnir, only hers works in reverse. One puts heat into the attacks, the other moves heat away from them. Basic Thermodynamics 101."

Leviathan murmured something quietly. It might have been an insult. Actually, given how X shushed her, it probably was.

"Anyways, a synthetic bow shock, huh? Unfortunately, I bet you can't fire while that shield's up, and movement systems are probably down for safety reasons. So you probably can't dodge _this_!"

Omega's dash thrusters fired, and he charged straight at her, his saber at the ready. Aile stepped back, hand grasping her halberd in case he did break through.

The tip of the sword slammed into her barrier with titanic force…and slowly penetrated. Just like Leviathan had warned, the Heat Shield wasn't proof against magnetically sheathed energy weapons like a plasma saber, and Omega slowly pushed his sword through her defenses with all his strength.

And that was when Aile did something _really_ stupid.

Aile didn't have the same level of control over the Heat Shield that she did over her own personal shields, but she did know how the shield worked: it got stronger by absorbing heat energy. Energy such as plasma.

And there was an incredible mass of plasma slowly inching towards her, just behind the magnetic sheath of Omega's blade.

So she did something really clichéd: She reversed the polarity of the magnetic sheath on her halberd, and slammed it into Omega's sword.

There's a reason everybody with a magnetic weapon keeps the polarity the same: so that the weapons don't stick together via magnetic attraction.

That in itself isn't bad, but the attraction can also affect the plasma itself. The plasma becomes distorted inside its own sheath, and the interplay between the distorted plasma next to the sheath itself and the stable plasma at the blade's core can cause the plasma to become excited.

Super-dense plasma has a tendency to explode violently if it becomes too excited.

And thanks to Omega's saber, there was only one outlet for that plasma to escape the Heat Shield.

"Shit." Omega had time to curse once as he saw what she was doing.

Then everything exploded.

* * *

As the _Hyperion_ turned, the tight formation of ships closed on the wounded right side. But it was a bluff, at least to a certain extent. Obviously, the armed cruiser was intended to punch through the weak spot on the _Hyperion_'s flank.

But the ships arrayed in front of the cruiser also masked something else: The numerous assault skiffs tractored to the side of the cruiser, along with the specially designed cannons that could launch assault pods instead of missiles.

Slither Inc. had learned its lesson last time, after all. The weakest point of the massive Guardian flagship was the _interior_. Once they got a decent sized boarding party into that ship, it was doomed. Even if they couldn't capture the ship, they could easily tie up enough people defending vital points to make the external battle decisive.

But the formation was a double-edged sword. The tight cluster of lighter ships blocked the powerful sensors on the cruiser.

None of them could see the titanic energy signature building up in the _Hyperion_'s starboard flank.

* * *

"Contact in 33 seconds! Plasma wave has reached 184 percent of the anticipated velocity!"

"Wave density has reached similar levels! Observable mass is 71 percent greater than expected, and still climbing! Theoretical mass estimate can no longer be measured!"

"Cyberwave generator is running at 112 percent capacity. Nubtan is holding it together though. Frequency variance is less than 2 percent."

Lateral gritted her teeth as her precious Phalanx groaned and hummed under the immense strain she was putting it through. Theoretically, it could hold the plasma wave stable for 58 seconds before it built up too far, but the rapid evolution of the wave itself was well beyond her estimates. If she didn't unleash it soon, it might slip free of the Phalanx and run rampant in the ship's interior, which would absolutely kill them all.

Along with just about everything within 1,000 meters of them…at minimum.

"Plasma containment field breach! The wave is too dense to absorb it! I can't contain it!"

"Crap." Lateral attacked her keyboard with lightning-quick finger strokes. "Leave the containment field to me. Cut the excess into secondary plasma tank 3B, and prepare that tank for immediate purge. That should keep it out of our way."

"Ma'am, that's a good chunk of the ship's plasma supply we'd lose."

"If this thing slips out, we'd lose a whole lot more, and we don't have anywhere else to vent that plasma. Do it." Lateral's tone brooked no argument. The technician in question set to work immediately.

"Ma'am, targets in range in 6 seconds."

"Everyone, get ready to fire!"

All of Lateral's technicians clung to their stations and braced themselves.

* * *

In effect, what Lateral was trying to do was break the laws of physics.

See, plasma is the cornerstone of weapons technology in this day and age. Its potential as a weapon has been thoroughly explored and documented, to the point that nearly every potential use for it has been already seen and used.

It is actually so well documented that it can even be used in Cyberspace, due to specific rules being laid in place to govern its use. After all, physical access to Cyberspace hadn't come around until well after the advent of plasma-based weapons like the buster.

But plasma is a physical matter/energy hybrid…and its existence and properties are well-explained by the laws of physics, particularly in the areas regarding to mass, conservation of matter/energy, and the speed of light.

Lateral's Phalanx was intended to change the playing field by taking advantage of three distinct loopholes. First, there is a fundamental rule that matter created in Cyberspace cannot be taken out of Cyberspace, whereas matter created in the real world that is inserted into Cyberspace can still be taken back out. But energy from Cyberspace can be attached to matter from the real world, and it can thus accompany the matter back out. This actually happens all the time during trans-server function, which is why trans-servers are still around. The trans-server device acts as a sink for that extra energy, preventing it from harming the person transferring. But in this case, Lateral had no intention of simply letting that extra energy go to waste.

Secondly, there is a brief instance during the crossing over between real and cyber worlds where the laws of physics become…detached. In the very instant a body stands between the two worlds, some very specific holes appear in the unyielding physical laws. The myriad of laws missing or truncated is best left to a proper physicist to explain in full, but the one hole that Lateral was interested in was the one pertaining to the speed of light. Or, more specifically, the fact that the laws related to speed and velocity were very Newtonian in nature. In short, an object accelerates if it is acted on by a force, and in this case there is no pesky speed limit to stop it. The increase is brief of course, and both Cyberspace and Trans-servers have specific functions built-in to siphon off any excess energy from such an interaction.

And finally, energy is very difficult to divide and transfer in the real world. Things like efficiency and friction get in the way. But in Cyberspace, energy can be transferred from one system to another without any loss. It can also be divided and put back together with absurd ease, so long as one has access to the right programs. While physically in Cyberspace, certain forces, such as friction, still occur with regularity. However, heat buildup from such interaction does not occur, because Cyberspace often siphons off this excess energy for its own use.

But if one were to translate speed into energy, which is simple to do in Cyberspace, this energy could easily be set aside…and put back together at a later date.

The Phalanx works like this. First, a small amount of plasma is ping-ponged back and forth between the real world and Cyberspace. This plasma is accelerated just before crossing over, using the nature of the Barrier to increase its speed. Once crossed into Cyberspace, a program captures the energy siphoned away from the plasma by Cyberspace, and stores it nearby. The plasma is then accelerated (if it can be at that point), and bounced back into the real world. Like before, the Phalanx captures the excess energy released, and uses it to force more plasma into the Plasma Wave being moved. The Plasma Wave is bounced back across the Barrier, and the cycle is then repeated ad-infinitum.

In theory, this would create a Plasma Wave with mass that approaches infinity, an enormous stockpile of energy in Cyberspace waiting to be used, and a weapon that just barely, just briefly, surpasses the speed of light as it leaves reality. And since plasma is easily manipulated by magnetic fields, this wave could then, when ready, be directed at whatever you didn't like, taking along with it all the energy stored in Cyberspace just as it crosses the Barrier.

In theory, it would produce a burst of plasma with near infinite mass, launched forth at the speed of light with near infinite energy to give it strength.

The results of that would be…interesting.

* * *

The small formation of ships stood absolutely no chance. Had they had twenty more seconds, they might have gotten the cruiser close enough to score a decisive hit. But they didn't have those seconds.

The instant the starboard flank lined up on them, a titanic river of blue-white plasma erupted outwards from the ship's side. With its impossible mass, and the sudden incursion into open space, it expanded outward at a dangerous rate, taking on the shape of a cone as it spilled forth into the sky.

With that much mass and velocity, there was nothing that had a prayer of stopping it.

In a single instant, almost a hundred ships were simply erased by the unstoppable tide of plasma.

But it didn't stop there. It was too massive for that. The wave continued for miles, the edge of the cone finally reaching the ground and transforming earth and stone into ash and brittle glass.

It finally reached the point where the magnetic field holding its shape was too weak to contain it. 14 miles from _Hyperion_, the massive plasma wave exploded, turning everything within miles into incandescent ruin.

Gratefully, Lateral had anticipated such, and thus had programmed her magnetic field to redirect as much of it upwards as possible before cutting loose. The explosion transformed into a titanic plume of blue flame that seared the sky, like the fiery breath of a great dragon. But that erupting energy never reached back to the ones that fired it.

The shockwave, however, did.

Two more ships were destroyed as the explosive shockwave slammed them into one another, breaking them apart like fragile toys. The rest were tossed through the air, desperately trying to regain control, and even the massive _Hyperion_ lurched bodily as the shockwave reached it.

The ground forces were, somewhat gratefully, spared the worst of the shock. The highway the battle was taking place upon had been designed with high winds in mind, and thus was made to redirect gale-force winds away from the vehicles that might be traveling upon it. Of course, this meant that the highway itself bore the brunt of the wave's power.

So as the ground forces were merely tossed to the ground, the highway itself cracked and splintered. Pieces broke away, and support columns gave way, causing massive sections to simply collapse under their own weight. Another unlucky ship was downed as what looked like an old abandoned ride chaser slammed into its engine intakes with all the force of a meteor.

In seconds, the battlefield was, somehow, in even worse shape than it had been when they started fighting there.

And it was about to get even worse.

* * *

"Why hasn't Tank 3B been purged yet!?"

"The shockwave damaged the control runs! Bringing up secondaries!"

"Too late! The plasma is going critical! Oh, God, _It's cycling into Main Tank 3_!"

"That's a quarter of our entire plasma supply! If it goes off…!"

Lateral threw commands into her computer, trying something,_ anything_, to keep the tank from going critical. But the secondaries hadn't come up in time, and she couldn't simply turn off plasma that had become excited to that degree.

Only one course of action left. And she had mere seconds to do it.

Lateral mashed buttons like a thing possessed, and someone gasped as the blast panels on the hull blew off. Immediately after, specially build, standalone electromagnetic rails hurled Plasma Tanks 3 and 3B sideways out of the ship.

Lateral overrode all intercom traffic and routed the speakers to her terminal.

"_All hands, BRACE FOR IMPACT!_"

* * *

When the shockwave from the Phalanx had hit them, most of the Guardians had been flung to the ground from the immense force. Of the few who had somehow remained standing, nearly all of them had dropped into cover positions to make sure their enemies didn't take advantage of the situation, or had simply gone to the aid of their downed comrades.

As a result, over 90 percent of the Guardians were either prone or kneeling, and it probably saved their lives.

Lateral just barely got the tanks out the ship in time. They were less than 200 meters away when they detonated.

The explosion was nowhere near as large or as dense as the one created by Lateral's Phalanx, but it occurred much closer…and most of the battlefield was still recovering from the shockwave it had produced.

_Hyperion_ suffered the worst, being the closest, but Lateral had just managed to get them away in time. The rush of plasma and the blast wave smashed through their shields and peeled away armor, not to mention frying all of the sensitive sensors on the starboard side. Three weapon stations were too exposed, and were simply wiped away, along with the two dozen soldiers manning them.

But the thick armor was just thick enough, and _Hyperion_ emerged from the inferno intact, albeit heavily damaged.

As for the Slither Inc. airships, many of which were barely armored at all, they received far worse punishment. Most of the ships on the starboard side had already been destroyed by the Phalanx, but only a handful of ships were protected from the explosion, with the _Hyperion _sitting directly in the way. Of the 30 or so ships in range, all but one were simply smashed by the catastrophic blast, and the orphan began to descend slowly, its bridge destroyed and most of its weapons and engines smashed to ruin.

As for the ground forces, had they been simply standing at ready, the force of the explosion would have probably smashed them into the ground, potentially at fatal speeds. But since they were already braced against the ground due to the shockwave just moments earlier, they were well braced against the ground to resist the second shockwave as it hit them. There were numerous bruises and cracked limbs, and at least seven or eight did indeed hit the ground hard enough to do fatal damage, but that was it. And the burst of plasma had dissipated enough at that point to not pose a threat to them.

There were also several maverick casualties, despite them being further away. Many of them were still mass-produced units like Galleons, and their components weren't built to withstand such tremendous impacts, let alone two of them in short order. But only a couple hundred mavericks were disabled by the two blasts, and still thousands remained.

For those on the ground, the explosions did not affect the battle much. Aside from the ruined highway, which admittedly gave the Guardians additional cover, all the blasts did was temporarily halt the mass of projectiles flying from one side to the other and heated combat would simply resume once both sides collectively got their shit together.

But in the air, the result of the explosions was decisive.

* * *

"_PAIN!_" Omega's outraged roar was finally audible over the ringing in her ears. Of course, he sounded less in actual pain, and more annoyed that Aile had managed to do what she just did.

She'd barely managed to siphon enough energy from the Heat Shield to her own Lx-Armor's personal shield to protect herself. With the explosion trapped between the inner shield and the false heliopause, it had only one possible exit: the hole in the shield formed by Omega's sword. As such, he'd received the vast majority of the explosive force.

Although she doubted his sword was badly damaged…despite the terrible damage done to Levi's halberd.

So Omega was recovering from that, and Aile was slowly getting back on her feet. Too slowly…

'_I'm running out of steam here._' She thought to herself as she panted for breath. She was lucky Leviathan had had the foresight to activate her armor's life support system, or Aile might have flash-burned her lungs when the explosion went off.

But she was still tired. She'd been fighting Omega for a while now. Maybe…It felt like she'd been fighting for days, but it was more likely she'd held him for half an hour or so. Then again, Zero's heart gave her more stamina, so who knows how long it had been.

It didn't matter. What mattered was that she was rapidly tiring…and Omega would instantly take advantage of her growing exhaustion if she didn't finish things quickly.

'_X…Harpuia…Phantom…maybe Levi if he reacts too quick…Zero…okay._'

She needed to act immediately, while Omega was still off balance from the explosion. And hopefully, while his sensors were still recalibrating.

'_Got to time this perfectly._'

Her plan clicked into place in her head. Every move was laid out before her with perfect clarity. Now she just had to implement it.

'_And…_now_!_'

Aile stopped thinking and _moved_.

* * *

'_Stupid, ignorant, suicidal, clever, irritating little…_'

Omega's thought process finally managed to stop focusing on his broken face, as his repair systems finally got around to fixing it.

"That's it. Now I'm really going to kick her ass." He groused as his other injuries finally started repairing. "Reversing mag polarity on a beam saber. That's the stupidest idea I've seen since Zero jumped on that missile. And he didn't even bother to give Weil the finger while he did it. Now, where'd she go?"

That was when Aile struck.

A hail of ice arrows cascaded into the ground around him, forcing him to leap up and away to evade them. It was an instinctive reaction, almost as natural as breathing to the red warrior, and only when he was in the air did it occur to Omega that Aile was hoping he would dodge that way.

Her twin charged shots shot towards the area Omega would ultimately land. The two Glacial Crashes detonated against the ground, sending sharp blades of ice scything into the air and ground, turning a very small area into a close approximation of icy death.

"Cute." Omega noted, using his dash thrusters to midair dash away from the icy hazard. "Not good enough though."

He turned just enough to catch sight of Aile, her X-Armor now a bright orange.

"Long Flamethrower!"

The weapon was aptly named. Despite being a flamethrower type weapon, it boasted considerable range. And while it was slow enough that Omega could practically walk out of the way, Aile wasn't aiming at him.

The ice scattered across the ground was instantly vaporized by the high-temperature weapon, and Aile had layered the ice thick enough to make it work. Thick steam suddenly covered the area, just barely masking the two combatants from view.

"Tch." Omega held his gun at a ready position as he carefully scanned the area. His proximity sensors were still down, but his aural sensors picked up a powerful thruster emission, similar to that of Harpuia's armor. Since he couldn't see her, he carefully tracked the sound until it vanished.

Omega slowly looked around. There was no sound of her landing, so she'd probably used stealth. That meant Phantom's armor, and he knew what to look for…and what to expect.

His hand shot out and closed around nothing…which then materialized into a familiar girl in purple armor. But she was unarmed. Her movements were short and spasmodic, and her eyes were calm, almost blank even; a drastic shift from the girl he'd been fighting.

'_One of Phantom's shadow clones. Probably letting her know where I am. Guess she didn't know I know how to use this against her._'

The single biggest weakness of Phantom's ability to generate solid illusions with his Stealth Drive was that it had to be able to connect Phantom to his clones. The Stealth Drive did this by generating a heavily encrypted, very stealthy tunnel through Cyberspace. It was actually so well-hidden that not even Omega could detect the connection, allowing Phantom to command his clones with absolute secrecy.

But if Omega had his hands on one of the clones, like he did right now, he could use his mastery over Cyberspace to identify the connection, and follow it to its destination. If he lost the clone, he'd lose the constantly-changing channel, but as long has he had his hands on it, he could keep up with its updates and isolate the other signal.

Had Aile known that, she would have immediately dismissed the illusion the moment Omega grabbed it. But she clearly didn't…and now he knew where she was.

"Gotcha."

Omega's buster snapped around and fired at nothing. It was a mid-power shot, but it was still enough to punch through Phantom's lighter armor, and Aile wouldn't be expecting it anyways.

It slammed against an empty region of space, and the Stealth Drive failed, revealing Aile, with a startled look on her face, her armor now rent and broken.

And frozen in midair, unmoving.

Omega's thoughts froze for an instant at the sight.

'_Oh _shit_._'

He instantly realized how she'd fooled him. But even as he turned his gaze from the girl, no, the _illusion_, he knew it was too late.

He just caught sight of the helmet still clutched in his hand…the _empty _helmet.

Just under it, Aile sans helmet swung her hands towards him, the Zx-Armor forming around her as she did, and the Zx-saber flaring to life as it scythed towards him.

* * *

"Unghh…"

Prairie groaned as Marguerite carefully nursed the gash on her forehead.

"It doesn't look too bad. Lucky you fell out of your seat, huh?"

"Y-yea…I guess." Prairie glanced at where her chair used to be with a forlorn look.

The first shockwave had been a surprise to the entire bridge, and had knocked Prairie out of her seat. She'd been moving to get back in when the second wave had wrenched Marguerite's panel out of its housing and launched it at her.

The console had smashed her chair out of its seating, and the edge of the chair had smacked the youthful Guardian right in the head. But had she been in the chair, she would have likely suffered a far worse fate.

"Tch. Hopefully, the other ships are as disoriented as we are. Gardenia, Tulip, keep an eye on them and try to get in touch with any available stations. Marguerite, help me here."

As the other two operators started their task, Prairie and Marguerite carefully righted Prairie's panel. Prairie made sure everything still worked, and activated the intercom.

"All hands, we still seem to be in one piece, although I'm sure we're all pretty shaken up. Everyone, check your stations for impact damage, and report back to the bridge ASAP. Nuppie, wherever you are, I want you and your cyber elves going through the starboard side. Make sure nobody gets left there. Everyone else, keep an eye on things; there are still ships up here, so if you can get to a weapon station, please do so. Prairie out."

Prairie shut off the intercom and rubbed her head. Then, she called up Engineering.

"Engineering Bay 4, Bridge. Lateral, what the _hell_ just happened!?"

A series of coughs answered her.

"_S-sorry Prairie. Lat'll explain the specifics later, but Plasma Tank 3 was compromised. Had to eject it. Sorry ab-_" she cut off with a string of coughs. "_s-sorry about that. Wasn't time to clear it._"

Prairie twitched. Rather than have a chargeable plasma weapon, Lateral and Colbor had instead opted for a storage tank for plasma, which could then be used to fire charged blasts constantly. But if it was punctured or compromised (like it had been), the results could be absolutely catastrophic.

"Understood. Given the circumstances, I don't mind. But we still have enemy ships left. What is the status of the Phalanx?"

A burst of static cut off Lateral's first few words, but Prairie raised an eyebrow. Unless she was mistaken, Lateral had just cursed.

_"-ing screwed, I'm afraid. The starboard unit was trashed from the shockwaves, and until I figure out how to tone down the plasma buildup, I can't use the port unit without the same thing happening. And even if I could get it to work, Nubtan is out cold, and I haven't figured out how to stabilize the cyberwave generator without her yet. I'm afraid you'll have to make do without it._"

"Understood. Do your best to get things stable down there, and then I want your section out and working on repairs."

"_Copy that. Lateral out._"

Prairie closed the intercom. "Gardenia, what's our status?"

The operator in question suppressed a grimace. "Frankly Prairie, I'd say we were screwed if it weren't for the fact that our enemies are in worse shape." She tapped a button, and a wireframe of the _Hyperion_ flared to life on Prairie's panel.

A lot of it was colored red. And several small sections were rather distressingly colored black, signifying fatal damage…or areas that were simply gone.

"The starboard flank is completely toast. I've got system failures all the way down to the keel. I read three…maybe four weapon stations, and one sensor platform that are still working. Nothing else is responding."

Gardenia turned back to Prairie. "Good news is that most of the second-layer armor is still intact, although I wouldn't recommend getting hit there again. Vital systems like life support and engines are still online, and the port side of the ship is more or less okay. Plus, we've still got three total Plasma Tanks left, which is more than enough to spare for just one side of the ship." The operator suddenly grinned. "And that's on top of the enemy status. Tulip?"

The purple haired Guardian turned at the prompt. "Ma'am, there are 37 enemy ships fully operational. Another 9 are intact, but show heavy damage to weapons and systems. Two of them appear to be fully silenced, and are headed for the ground. Their trajectory points them away from the battlefield, indicating a loss of main control."

"In other words, we can probably take them." Gardenia stated firmly. "Most of the heavy weapons on the port side are intact, and most of the enemy ships are well above us. The deck guns are still online, so if they try to move over, we can take them out."

"However, part of the reason we are lower than they are is because we have moderate damage to the lower sections and the keel." Tulip continued. "And we've lost connection to the heavy guns on the keel and dorsal platforms. So even if we can defeat the warships, that still leaves Colbor and his forces on their own."

"…" Prairie rubbed her forehead as she considered her options. It was true, they could probably take the remaining ships. In fact, she was certain of it. But she couldn't roll the ship very far, meaning she couldn't bring the remaining heavy weapons to bear on the ground.

So the original plan to defeat the air units and provide top cover to Colbor's team was effectively ruined.

Still, it was far better odds than what they'd started with. And there were still some other options available to her…

"Marguerite, my terminal in my room has a backup bypass into the weapons control. Grab whatever guns that aren't manned, and use them. Gardenia, I want you on the helm. Keep us in range of the enemy, but don't let anything slip past us to the starboard side. And Tulip, you are on what sensors we have left. Keep an eye on the enemy ships, but also get a good look at the enemy ground forces."

"And somebody raise Colbor on the comm. He should at least know what he's up against."

* * *

"_…so basically, that's what we have to work with._"

Colbor nodded, and tried, honestly he tried, not to look irritated with his old friend. He knew it wasn't her fault, but that didn't change his odds one bit.

Prairie's image frowned. "_We can probably take the ships, after which, I can probably rig up something to drop on their heads, but you're basically on your own, Colbor. If I still had four plasma tanks, I might try bombing them with one, but I don't. And if more ships show up, we'll need every scrap of plasma we can scrounge up. In the meantime, I've got Tulip reconfiguring the sensors to slot into your own. I can't do much else, but at least you'll be able to see where your enemies are. And once I've cleared out our own wounded, we can trans your own up here and out of the way._"

Colbor nodded. "Sounds good. At this point, I'll take what assistance I can."

Prairie turned to answer someone, then addressed him again. "_We're moving out now, so I'll make this quick. Lateral thinks she can restore functionality to the keel guns, so we might be able to help you out. Until then, hold firm._"

He saluted. "Understood. Swing by later on Prairie, we'll still be here."

* * *

Metal shrieked as the plasma blade tore through it, just barely muffling the sound of Aile's sharp cry as Omega's hand smacked her in the face.

Aile cursed in her head as she leapt back. She'd had him. She'd had Omega dead to rights, and he'd _dodged_ it!

Not entirely though. Even Omega couldn't have slipped away from her entirely. He'd instead turned towards her, lashing out with his outstretched arm as he did so.

He'd lost that arm doing so…but he'd survived because of it.

"Tch…you got me." Omega growled, the stump of his left arm sparking fitfully. "You actually fooled me. _Me_! You deliberately led me into thinking you didn't know how Phantom's Stealth Drive worked, and you played the part of a mindless illusion so well it even convinced _me_." His gaze was angry, but there was a hint of a grin as well. "A bit more practice, and you'd make a great sneak. That was a maneuver worthy of Phantom himself."

Omega coolly readied himself with his sword in his remaining hand.

"Still, I'm not done yet. Let's see if you've got enough left to finish it, Aile!"

And Aile realized immediately that this would be the last stroke of the match. If she didn't defeat Omega with her next attack, she was done.

Which probably meant doing something stupid again. An idea formed in her head, and Aile slowly matched Omega's stance.

"Alright. I'm ready."

Silence. Both combatants stared at each other, waiting for the unspoken signal to attack.

This time, there was no convenient signal. No building waiting to collapse, or a leaf floating slowly to earth.

There was just the two of them…looking each other in the eye.

Then…as if in unison, they _moved_.

Omega launched towards her, his sword poised to stab. Her own sword matched his.

"HIYAAAA!"

"URYAAAA!"

_TSHHIIIINNNGGG!_

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

...

...

...

...

"…Hah…not…bad…"

Omega's face was inches away from her. The pain on both of their faces was evident.

One was merely from pain: The result of forcing the opponent's blade aside with their fortified arm, taking the blade in the shoulder.

But the other was from defeat.

"Well…done…Aile…" Omega rasped, the Zx-Saber buried in his chest.

It was over.

* * *

AN: Writing Omega turned out to be a lot harder than I thought.

Anyways, next chapter may hopefully take less time, but that's no guarantee, especially after this chapter. It took less time then I usually take, but still longer than I had planned for originally.

I think I'll try for the two month timetable again. Since I do better with a schedule, it may help me push out updates faster. I again make no guarantees, but it sure beats waiting half a year for an update, right?


End file.
